


Guardian Dae

by Jongdaesdimple



Series: Guardian Jongdae [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Guardian Angels, Flirting, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:08:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26187727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jongdaesdimple/pseuds/Jongdaesdimple
Summary: The story of Jongdae, the angel who falls for a human (Minseok) and keeps fixing his life just to see him.
Relationships: Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Series: Guardian Jongdae [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874515
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30





	1. Something Different

**Author's Note:**

> You don't have to read the first two fics but if you want some background, it will help a bit. This fic starts about 5 seconds after the last one.

Jongdae smiles as Jongin, his second human case, gets the love he deserves. He’s 2 for 2 and Jongdae couldn’t be prouder. Not that guardian angels fail often but Jongdae is young and usually, at his age, he’d only help cats and dogs, maybe the odd bird. Jongdae though has a particular interest in humans and it’s why the elders trusted him with two human cases, despite his lack of experience. He also did graduate top of his class and that has to count for something. 

“Well, that’s done” Jongdae says before zapping himself back into the angel world. 

Jongdae suddenly appears in the guardian angel transport room. It’s a smallish room since it only has one purpose. Just a couple plants and other assorted decorations so it won’t feel so bare. The angel world has a stereotype of just being white and empty, so they redecorated. There are also some large dark wood french style doors at the end of the room.

“Welcome back Jongdae” Byulyi, a fellow guardian angel, smiles as she walks through the doors “All done?” 

“Yup! Second human case, succeeded” Jongdae smiles proudly. 

“Good for you!” Byulyi smiles back “I’m just about to go help a little girl who’s lost at Disney world. She got too excited about the balloons but I’ll bring her back before her parents panic too much.”

“Good luck!” Jongdae says before walking towards the doors. 

“Thanks” Byulyi says before disappearing into thin air. 

Jongdae walks out of the transport and heads over to his little office cubicle. After every case comes the not so fun part, paperwork. It doesn’t take too long though, he just has to write about what he did, like a journal entry. Plus Jongdae’s desk is kinda nice. He has a little cactus and everything. But there’s nothing Jongdae likes more than helping earth creatures, which makes sense because it’s his purpose in life. So once he finishes his report he runs it over to reports to drop it off. 

“I have another report for you!” Jongdae says, handing the report to Wheein, the angel who reviews them “Did you finish reviewing my other report?”

“Yup here you go” Wheein says handing Jongdae the file. 

Jongdae takes it and looks at the top of the page for his grade. 10 out of 10 gold star stickers, he smiles to himself before looking for some of the comments written on the page. 

“Wait this isn’t my Baekhyun case” Jongdae frowns, noticing it’s about the lost puppy case he worked on a couple months ago. 

“Oh yeah, I haven’t gotten to that one yet” Wheein answers “I’ll get to it soon!”

“Ok, thanks Wheein” Jongdae nods. 

Jongdae steps away from the reports desk and towards his favourite place in all of the angel world. New cases. He confidently walks up, ready for a new case. 

“Hello, Yongsun! I’m ready for a case!” Jongdae smiles. 

“That fast huh?” Yongsun smiles back “Ok let me see what I have for you... ah! Yes, this is a good one. Delta 56 Orange.”

Yongsun takes a file from on top of the desk and hands it to Jongdae who excitedly takes it. He looks over it and realizes quickly that it’s not a human case at all. It’s about a kitten who’s toy fell into a vent. Jongdae likes kittens but nowhere near as much as humans. 

“But I want a real case” Jongdae says, looking down at the file. 

“That is a real case” Yongsun answers “I don’t think you understand, that was her favourite. She deserves to have it back.”

“But anyone could do that, a human could do it” Jongdae says looking up “I want a human case.”

“Don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourself? You’re a great angel, truly, but you’re only 28 years old. Usually, angels are at least a century old before they switch to human cases.” Yongsun says in a soothing voice “I know you’re excited about humans and that’s great! But you just had two human cases in the same year, maybe take a decade off.”

“Please? I’ll do any human case! A tiny one, just anything” Jongdae begs with his cutest puppy dog eyes. 

“Maybe I have something” Yongsun answers, pulling out a drawer in her desk. 

Jongdae floats up slightly to peak over her desk and watches her go through the files. 

“Ok yes this one should be fine” Yongsun says handing Jongdae a file. 

“Kim Minseok, got fired from his job because he doesn’t stand up for what he wants” Jongdae says reading over the file “So how should I help him?” 

“Up to you” Yongsun smiles “You wanted a human case, now you have one. You’ll have to figure out the rest on your own.”

“Thank you” Jongdae says holding the file up to his chest “I won’t let you down!”

“You’ll do a great job Jongdae” Yongsun smiles “Good luck.”

Jongdae’s mind races with ideas about how to help. He could easily just give Minseok his job back but that won’t solve the root issue, Minseok needs to stand up for what he wants... so how to teach him to do that? 

Jongdae likes planning ahead but the truth is when he meets the human is when his angel instincts (and years of training) kick in and he can see the perfect solution. So the faster Jongdae meets Minseok, the faster he’ll be able to start his mission to help him. 

Jongdae rushes back into the transport room before checking his case file for an address. Soon enough he finds himself in a monochromatic apartment. It looks oddly familiar, it reminds Jongdae of the furniture catalogues he’s seen online but it’s nothing like the other humans' houses... it’s so clean and proper. 

“Make one move, I dare you” A voice says from behind Jongdae. 

“I’m your guardian angel!” Jongdae says happily, unafraid of the threat. 

Jongdae starts to turn around before the voice speaks again. 

“I said don’t move” The voice repeats. 

“You are Minseok right?” Jongdae asks, not moving, as per his request. 

“Yeah?” Minseok asks unsure. 

“Ok great!” Jongdae says before floating up out of Minseok’s reach and turning to face him “I’m here to help you!”

“You’re really a-” Minseok says looking up at the floating Jongdae and dropping his baseball bat on the ground in shock. 

“Guardian angel yes” Jongdae nods before floating back to the ground to have a normal conversation “My name’s Jongdae, you lost your job which was unfair so I’m here to help you get it back.”

“You know Baekhyun mentioned something about an angel once but I thought he was kidding” Minseok says, still obviously not over the whole angel thing. 

“You know Baekhyun?” Jongdae asks “Like the one married to Chanyeol?”

“Yeah, he’s my best friend” Minseok answers. 

“Oh cool! I didn’t realize you were that Kim Minseok! Huh, small world” Jongdae smiles. 

“How many other Kim Minseok’s do you know?” Minseok asks. 

“I can name two off the top of my head” Jongdae says, happy to share his knowledge of humans “The actor and the skater.”

“Oh, good point” Minseok nods before walking over to the nearby couch to have a seat. 

“So about your job-” Jongdae starts. 

“Don’t worry about it” Minseok interrupts “I’ll get a new one soon and until then I can live off my severance check, it’s not a big deal.”

“What?” Jongdae asks confused “But I’m here to help you.”

“Maybe you should help someone else then” Minseok suggests. 

“No, you’re my case” Jongdae pouts “Why don’t you want my help?”

“I just don’t really need it” Minseok shrugs “I’ll be fine.”

“But you lost your job unfairly, you were blamed for something that happened because the rats living in your office wall bit through the wires and caused a power malfunction.” Jongdae explains reciting what he read in the file “You should have stood up for yourself but you didn’t.”

“Huh, I was wondering what the cause was” Minseok says looking over at Jongdae “It wouldn’t have mattered if I stood up for myself, they would have treated me badly afterwards anyway.”

“But don’t you think that’s unfair? You didn’t do anything wrong but you’re being punished. Shouldn’t I help you to right the wrong?” Jongdae asks. 

“It’s life” Minseok sighs “Stuff happens.”

“Why won’t you just accept my help” Jongdae whines “It’s my job!” 

“Ok fine, if you really want to help go ahead” Minseok smiles at Jongdae’s childish behaviour “What’s the plan?”

“Well, I’m going to...” Jongdae says before a confused look appears on his face. 

“You’re going to do what?” Minseok asks. 

“I don’t know” Jongdae frowns “Usually an idea just pops into my head, but with you, I’ve got nothing.”

“I told you I didn’t need help” Minseok laughs to himself. 

“No, the scouting angels deemed your case important enough for divine intervention” Jongdae answers “This must be a problem with me...”

“I doubt that. You seem really dedicated to your job” Minseok says seriously. 

“Thanks” Jongdae smiles “I love helping and even if I can’t think of the perfect solution, I can still help.”

“If you say so” Minseok shrugs. 

“I’ll just... help you with your job hunt” Jongdae says firmly. 

“Ok sure why not” Minseok says getting up off the couch. 

“I can’t just give you a job because that’s too easy, you have to do it for yourself...” Jongdae starts. 

“I was going to do it anyway” Minseok answers. 

“Well, I have to be here for some reason” Jongdae frowns “I know! I’ll search the internet for your perfect workplace! That way you’ll apply but I’ll have made your life better!” 

“You can do that?” Minseok asks “Won’t it take a while?”

“You really don’t get that I’m an angel do you?” Jongdae smirks “Now, I need a computer.”

Minseok leaves the living room and goes into another room which Jongdae suspects is either the office or bedroom of the apartment. In any case, Minseok comes out with a laptop that he hands to Jongdae. 

Jongdae sits down on the couch and puts the laptop on the coffee table in front of it. He looks back to make sure Minseok is watching him, which he is, before working his magic (literally). Jongdae types in “a perfect job” into the search bar of the browser and lands on a job application site with one particular job open. 

“What do you think of this one?” Jongdae asks, pointing at the screen. 

Minseok sits down right beside Jongdae and Jongdae realizes he’s never actually touched a human before. It’s nice, warm and comforting somehow. 

“It’s a short commute, with parking, health benefits and a great salary” Minseok says reading over the details “Wow that is perfect you’re right.”

“Perks of being an angel” Jongdae smiles. 

“I’d like having you around more often” Minseok says looking at the laptop screen. 

“Now that my job is done, I actually have to leave.” Jongdae answers “There’s nothing more for me to do really...”

“Oh” Minseok says, sounding almost a little sad “Thanks then.”

“Yeah, no problem” Jongdae says before getting off the couch “Bye!” 

And like that, Jongdae leaves and finds himself back in the angel world. If the Jongin report was short to write, this one is only going to take a couple of minutes. As Jongdae writes the short report he realizes something, he didn’t really fix Minseok’s problem. Yes, the job issue is fixed, but he didn’t help Minseok stand up for himself. He is so not getting 10 stars on this one. 

Jongdae frowns as he drops off the report at Wheein’s desk, she’s not even there to comfort him. Jongdae mopes all the way to Yongsun’s desk to get a new case. 

“Back so soon?” Yongsun smiles “Wow you really do work quickly Jongdae.”

“Yeah but I don’t think I did a good job. I didn’t even help him stand up for himself. All I did was help him get his perfect job.” Jongdae explains “Plus I couldn’t even see the right solution! I just made one up! I think there’s something wrong with me.”

“No, don’t say that Jongdae” Yongsun frowns “But if you’re really worried you can go see a doctor.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that” Jongdae nods. 

“Just for the record, I think getting Minseok his perfect job was a really great solution. You made him so much happier and that’s what he deserved” Yongsun smile “Also if you still want that kitten case, it’s still available. Kittens always cheer me up.”

“Thanks Yongsun, I’ll take it” Jongdae smiles weakly. 

Jongdae follows standard procedure for toy retrieval. He stays invisible as he tries to find the toy in the vent. He makes no sound so the kitten’s family won’t hear him and eventually he gets the toy and slowly rolls it towards the kitten so she’ll see it. She gets really excited and starts playing with it right away. Yongsun was right, it does cheer him up but he just wishes he could have done more for Minseok. He should have made Minseok as happy as that kitten. 

When Jongdae gets back to the angel world he writes up his little report and hands it in but instead of getting a new case he heads to the doctor to make sure he’s in tip-top shape. He waits in the waiting room and picks up a nearby magazine of Wings Weekly. 

“Hey, are you ok?” An angel to Jongdae’s right asks. 

Jongdae looks up from his magazine to look at the angel beside him. He doesn’t recognize her but based on her uniform and short bob style red hair, she’s a cupid angel. Jongdae almost majored in cupidisim but he’s happier as a guardian angel. 

“No” Jongdae frowns “I wouldn’t be here if I was.”

“Oh right sorry” The angel says “I’m only here because I shot my own foot.”

“How’d you do that?” Jongdae laughs. 

“A bird flew past me and I got distracted” The angel laughs “What’s up with you?”

“I think I’m broken” Jongdae answers with a slight frown “I couldn’t find the perfect solution to my case.”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t go into guardianism, not my thing” The angel says “I’m Hyejin by the way.”

“I’m Jongdae” Jongdae answers. 

“I feel like there’s something else on your mind, it’s not just the lack of a perfect solution is it?” Hyejin asks. 

“No” Jongdae admits “I just feel like I failed my last human you know? He needs more help. I didn’t do enough for him.”

“Well, there’s always those tiny cases” Hyejin answers. 

“What?” Jongdae asks. 

“Scouting angels always find teeny little cases but most of them go unanswered because they could probably resolve themselves” Hyejin explains “If you just keep asking about your human, I’m sure there will be a bunch of tiny cases for you. They pop up daily, sometimes more than once a day.”

“That’s genius!” Jongdae smiles “And Yongsun won’t mind me taking so many human cases since they’re tiny!”

“Glad I could help” Hyejin smiles. 

“You know what, take my place in line” Jongdae says standing up “I’m going to go get a case.”

~=+•+=~

“Fuck” Minseok cruses as he sees the puddle of water around his kitchen sink “This better be something small.”

“Hey!” Jongdae says popping in behind Minseok. 

“Jesus Christ!” Minseok says shocked before looking behind him at Jongdae “You need to stop doing that!”

“How else would I get here?” Jongdae asks. 

“I don’t know! Knock on the door?” Minseok says before walking over to one of his drawers to pull out towels for the puddle “Why are you here anyway? I thought you said you were done helping with the job thing.”

“I am but now I’m here to help with the broken sink” Jongdae answers. 

“Is this how you angel people usually work? Find one person and just help with every inconvenience?” Minseok asks, putting the towels on the ground. 

“If I said yes it would make me a liar but it would also make me seem less weird” Jongdae answers honestly. 

“Then why are you doing it?” Minseok asks, opening the little door to see under the sink.

“I feel bad I messed up your case” Jongdae answers. 

“You got me my literal dream job, you did not mess up my case” Minseok laughs looking at Jongdae “I know you’re an angel but you are too caring.”

“I didn’t help you with standing up for what you want” Jongdae answers “that’s a pretty big mess up on my end.”

“Can you swear?” Minseok asks. 

“What?” Jongdae asks. 

“I’m just curious, can you or is that too evil?” Minseok asks again. 

“I can swear” Jongdae answers now, feeling a little weird about it. 

“Do it” Minseok says with a smirk. 

“R-right now?” Jongdae asks awkwardly. 

“Yeah” Minseok laughs at Jongdae’s reaction “Say ‘I fucked up.’”

“I uh fucked up your case” Jongdae says. 

“No you didn’t” Minseok smiles putting a hand on Jongdae’s shoulder “You did perfectly, but right now my sink is spilling water everywhere I don’t know how why. So can you help make it stop?”

“Yup” Jongdae smiles, Minseok’s accepting his help!

“Good now use your angel magic to fix it!” Minseok smiles. 

“I don’t have sink fixing powers” Jongdae answers. 

“What? Why not?” Minseok asks. 

“Why would an angel have plumbing powers?” Jongdae laughs. 

“Why do you have job-finding powers?” Minseok returns. 

“Touché” Jongdae laughs “but point is I don’t have that power so I’m just going to help you fix it in the normal way.”

“Alright well hold up the flashlight then” Minseok says, handing Jongdae his phone. 

“Right and to turn on the flash...” Jongdae says poking the back of the phone randomly. 

“You’ve never held a phone have you?” Minseok smiles, obviously finding this amusing. 

“I made a flip phone once” Jongdae replies. 

“It’s pretty simple” Minseok says taking the phone back to show Jongdae “This is the on button so you tap this, then once it’s on just pull up and see that little flashlight button? Press it.”

Jongdae presses on the screen and the phone flash turns on. 

“See, simple” Minseok smiles, giving the phone to Jongdae “Now just hold that for me while I look under the sink.”

Jongdae does his best to give Minseok the best angles of light to help him see what’s going wrong with the sink. 

“It’d be better if I had two flashlights then I could see everything at once” Minseok says, still looking around the pipes to see where the leak is from. 

“Oh maybe I can help” Jongdae says before turning on his angel glow and moving his hand around to light up the space under the sink. 

“You can glow?” Minseok asks looking back at Jongdae “Why were you holding the flashlight then?” 

“You asked me to” Jongdae answers. 

“Ok new plan” Minseok says “You turn your glow up super high and put your hand in the sink, wherever the light leaks is where the water is leaking.”

“Ok, I can do that” Jongdae says, putting Minseok’s phone on the counter. 

Jongdae puts his hand just above the sink and turns his glow up. He tries to focus the energy just on his hand to avoid blinding Minseok. 

“Ok found it” Minseok says “This is going to be pretty easy but I need a new rubber gasket.”

“Where do you get one?” Jongdae asks. 

“The hardware store” Minseok answers “Wanna come? I could still use some help installing it.”

“Me? In a real human store?” Jongdae smiles “Do you think I can pass as human? Or should I be invisible?”

“You can be-“ Minseok says before cutting himself off, obviously Jongdae can become invisible but not fix a sink “You’ll pass as human as long as you don’t glow.” 

“Got it” Jongdae nods before turning his glow completely off. 

“Completely white suit is kinda weird but it’s fine” Minseok says looking at Jongdae’s outfit. 

“You should see the Cupid angels, don’t tell anyone I said this but their uniforms are ugly.” Jongdae laughs. 

“Ah-ha so you aren’t just nice” Minseok laughs with Jongdae. 

“I don’t think Baekhyun thinks I’m all that nice. I was kinda a mess and just threw him into an alternate universe without explaining” Jongdae explains. 

“Well, you haven’t changed much then. But you’re a nice mess” Minseok smiles before putting his shoes on. 

“Thank you? I think?” Jongdae laughs. 

“Ready to go to the store?” Minseok asks. 

“Yes!” Jongdae says excitedly. 

Jongdae and Minseok walk out of the apartment and to Minseok’s car. Jongdae tries to stay cool but he’s never experienced so many human things in one day. Most angels don’t really care about human things, they’re just focused on improving their lives but Jongdae just finds human life so thrilling. 

Minseok drives them to the nearest hardware store and Jongdae jumps out of the car as soon as he parks. The two boys walk into the store and Jongdae starts greeting people randomly, anyone he passes by he says hi to. 

“What are you doing?” Minseok says quietly while pulling on Jongdae’s arm to get him to stop. 

“Saying hi?” Jongdae asks, confused about the question. 

“But you don’t know them, that’s weird” Minseok answers while directing Jongdae to the correct aisle of the hardware store. 

“I never know the humans I meet but I always say hi” Jongdae explains. 

“That kind of makes sense considering how you usually meet people but don’t do it in public” Minseok instructs “Am I the first human you’ve visited twice?”

“Yes because I mess-“ Jongdae starts. 

“Stop saying that” Minseok interrupts “it’s so untrue.”

“So what are we looking for?” Jongdae asks. 

“Little rubber thingy” Minseok describes while looking through the selection to find the right one “This thing”

“Wow and that will fix the whole sink?” Jongdae asks, looking at the small black rubber circle. 

“The whole sink isn’t broken, just this part” Minseok explains “if the whole sink was broken I’d call a plumber, but I can replace this on my own.”

“With my help” Jongdae smiles. 

“Yes, you will be helpful” Minseok answers back with a smile but Jongdae has a feeling he’s just saying that to make Jongdae feel useful. 

Minseok pays for the part and soon enough the trip to the hardware store is over. Minseok unlocks his front door and opens it as a little white and gray cat runs towards Minseok. 

“This is-“ Minseok starts to explain. 

“Tan!” Jongdae smiles excitedly at the little cat. 

“You know Tan?” Minseok asks with wide eyes. 

“Yeah! I helped her find her way home when she got lost” Jongdae explains “She was really far from home, 20km away, but we worked it out. That also explains why your apartment looked familiar.”

“Oh wow thank you” Minseok says kneeling down to pet the cat “I was really worried when she ran out.”

“She saw a fly and got excited” Jongdae continues to explain “then she got scared of the sound of the garbage shoot so she ran towards the stairwell door that was propped open by the movers.” 

“Your files are really detailed aren’t they?” Minseok asks. 

“Yup!” Jongdae smiles before walking towards the kitchen “So sink?” 

Minseok repairs the sink while Jongdae glows for light. Jongdae also hands Minseok some tools so he feels somewhat helpful. Still not enough to make up for messing up Minseok’s first case though. If he keeps coming surely he’ll find a way to get Minseok to stand up for himself. Plus Jongdae would be lying if he said he didn’t already enjoy the human. Minseok is easy to be around and he’s different from angels. Different in a good way, he has more personality and Jongdae likes it because he’s not exactly a cooking cutter angel, despite what Minseok seems to think. 

Jongdae might be a bit of a mess when it comes to humans but he’s learning. He’s also a bit sassy and playful. He likes helping of course but he also likes teasing people a bit too and that certainly makes him... different. It’s nice to be around someone who’s different too. 


	2. SohCahToa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Description of a cute little spider, so arachnophobe warning I guess?
> 
> Also this one is a little short so I might post another tonight

Hyejin was right. More little Minseok cases pop up every day, sometimes twice a day. They are never anything that really takes more than a few minutes to solve but it’s still nice to be able to talk to his favourite human (he has a small selection to choose from but Minseok is still his favourite). After a week of tiny cases, he finally got one that’s somewhat important. Jongdae smiles knowing he’ll be able to make a real impact on Minseok’s life. 

“Getta snowflay” Baekhyun slurs before correcting himself “snow- _ flake _ ”

“Why? No...” Minseok shakes his head “I’m gonna get somethin good.”

“Like... a snow!” Baekhyun repeats before bursting out into laughter “wait I already said that.”

“Tan! I’ll get Tan!” Minseok exclaims. 

“I don’t think this is a tanning salon” Baekhyun says looking around confused “it’s supposed to be a tattoo parlour.”

“Tan, my cat, you idiot” Minseok frowns before walking up to the counter “hello sir, I want a tattoo of my cat.”

“Are you drunk?” The tattoo artist says looking over at Baekhyun stumbling on his own feet. 

“No” Minseok says, mustering up his best sober voice “he’s drunk but I’m fine.”

“Alright if you say so” the tattoo artist says before bringing Minseok and Baekhyun to the back. 

“I’ll take it from here” Jongdae says, swooping in. 

“Sir, please wait in the front and someone will be with you shortly.” The worker says as Jongdae stands beside Minseok. 

“Oh no, I work here. Just started today.” Jongdae says. 

“Right, I remember now...” the tattoo artist says sounding like he’s under a trance.

He leaves the angel and two humans in the tattoo room. Once he’s fully out the door Jongdae turns to them. 

“No drunk tattoo” Jongdae says to Minseok. 

“Omg!” Baekhyun yells “it’s that guy! The dude! Wi-wing man? Yeah!”

“I saved your marriage and you call me wing man? My name is Jongdae” Jongdae says offended. 

“Yeah! Jongwing!” Baekhyun says excitedly. 

“No” Minseok says to Baekhyun “he's my angel Jongdae.”

“Your angel?” Jongdae smiles, somehow enjoying the feeling of being Minseok’s. 

“Yes and he’s here to...” Minseok says before thinking hard “help me pick my tattoo!”

“No, I’m here to stop you” Jongdae sighs “Minseok you don’t want a tattoo, you’re just drunk.”

“Nuh uh!” Minseok protests “I want one of Tan!” 

“Minseok, I don’t think this is a tanning salon” Baekhyun says looking around. 

“You’re stupid you know that?” Minseok asks rhetorically, tired of hearing Baekhyun repeat himself. 

“Hey! I’m not stupid, Imma law-er. Smart and stuff.” Baekhyun defends “I passed the smart test.” 

“So what!” Minseok says angrily “I want a tattoo!” 

“Get a snowthingy!” Baekhyun says excitedly. 

“Ok, I have an idea” Jongdae says as the two continue to have the same fight again “I’ll take you two to an airbrush tattoo place where you can get whatever you want ok?”

“Issa tattoo?” Minseok asks, stumbling a bit even though he's standing still. 

“Yup” Jongdae answers. 

“Ok, lets go” Minseok nods. 

Jongdae helps the two drunk guys walk out of the tattoo parlour and onto the street. It’s only then that Jongdae remembers he has no idea where to get an airbrush tattoo. 

“I’m gonna need your phone” Jongdae says to Minseok. 

“Is in my pocket” Minseok says pointing to his back pocket. 

“Can you give it to me? Please?” Jongdae asks. 

Before Minseok answers Baekhyun whispers something into his ear and the two drunk men laugh. 

“You get it” Minseok answers with a smile. 

“Ok?” Jongdae says before reaching into Minseok’s back pocket. 

It’s not until he grabs the phone that he realizes what position he’s put himself in. He’s leaning well into Minseok’s personal space and he has his hand in Minseok’s back pocket. Not the best plan and Jongdae’s embarrassed he didn’t think this through. Minseok places a hand on Jongdae’s shoulder which makes Jongdae feel all weird inside. Jongdae pulls back quickly. He uses his powers to unlock the phone and searches the screen for what he needs. 

“Internet app...” Jongdae says looking at the apps. 

“Google?” Minseok asks. 

“Right google” Jongdae laughs before clicking on it “I knew that...”

Once it’s up he does a search using his magic search powers and types in “perfect temporary tattoo place”. Jongdae copies the address and puts it in google maps before leading the humans there. 

“It’s cold” Baekhyun whines. 

“Wouldn’t be cold if you had stayed home tonight with your husband and daughter” Jongdae points out as they continue to walk. 

“But it’s boys night” Baekhyun laughs. 

“You only have one male friend?” Jongdae asks. 

“Sehun was busy and Kyungsoo and Jongin are on a couple’s trip.” Baekhyun explains. 

“Kyungsoo and Jongin?” Jongdae asks “wow all the humans I know are friends.”

“Jongdae likes humans” Minseok smiles “he's really nice to me, helps me all the time.”

“He made me cry” Baekhyun deadpans “a lot.”

“It was necessary” Jongdae laughs, trying to lighten the mood. 

“No...” Baekhyun says pouting and shaking his head in an over-exaggerated way.

“Yes, it was” Jongdae insists. 

“Ok” Baekhyun agrees, his drunk brain incapable of thinking of a reason why he shouldn't “he also got me to adopt Sooyoung so I like him.”

“Thank you” Jongdae smiles “ok we’re here.” 

All three of them walk into the little shop and Jongdae goes right up to the counter to asks the worker about tattoos. 

“Hello, I would like an airbrush tattoo for my friend” Jongdae explains. 

“We don’t do that here” she answers flatly “all the airbrush places are closed at this hour.”

“But you have tattoos don’t you?” Jongdae asks, his magic internet powers brought him here for a reason. 

“Yeah come with me” She says before stepping out from behind the counter. 

“Come on guys” Jongdae says to the two friends. 

They all walk into the aisle where a bunch of temporary tattoos are hanging from little hooks. 

“These are the ones we have” She says, pointing to them. 

“Stickers!” Baekhyun exclaims “Sooyoung likes stickers, especially gold stars.”

“I love gold stars” Jongdae smiles to himself “but these aren’t stickers, they're tattoos.”

“Yay!” Minseok says, looking at the various packs “these! I want these ones!”

“The angel ones?” Jongdae asks “I thought you wanted kitty ones.”

“No, I like angels” Minseok disagrees “I want it on my face.”

“Ok sure” Jongdae agrees “buy them and I’ll help you put them on.”

Jongdae helps Minseok and Baekhyun pay for the temporary tattoos as well as two water bottles that he makes them drink. Once they finish drinking, Jongdae brings them to the nearest subway station to help get them both home safely. After Jongdae insures Baekhyun is in his home and being taken care of by Chanyeol, Jongdae goes with Minseok to his apartment. 

“Home!” Minseok sighs, stumbling into his apartment.

“So we need a damp cloth to apply the tattoo” Jongdae says walking in, following Minseok towards the living room.

“No, I don’t wanna tattoo” Minseok says, collapsing on his couch “I wanna watch a movie.”

“Oh” Jongdae says looking down at the pack of tattoos “Ok well I’ll get going then.”

“What? No! Movie!” Minseok frowns, sitting up to look at Jongdae. 

“I’m only here to help you not make the mistake of getting a drunk tattoo” Jongdae pouts. 

“Now I need someone to watch a movie with” Minseok whines getting off the couch to get up and step way closer into Jongdae’s personal space than he ever has before “You’re not going to leave me alone right? I thought you were going to help me be happy.”

“Watching a movie with you will make your life better?” Jongdae asks. 

Minseok nods vigorously in response. 

“I guess I can then” Jongdae answers knowing his tiptoeing on a fine line, if he gets caught he might be in trouble. He’ll just have to make it seem like it was very important for taking care of drunk Minseok in his report.

“Yay! Let’s watch spiderman!” Minseok smiles widely stepping back away from Jongdae “The one with Tom Holland.”

“Which one?” Jongdae asks following Minseok to the couch. 

“Both!” Minseok smiles. 

“Aren’t there three?” Jongdae asks. 

“Not yet” Minseok answers, picking up the remote backwards before Jongdae helps him out. 

“Oh” Jongdae says with a small smile “Time is a little bendy in the angel world.”

“You’ve seen the third one?” Minseok asks. 

“Let’s just watch” Jongdae says, helping Minseok pick out the movie on the screen. 

~=+•+=~

“Hello Minseok” Jongdae says, leaning on the arch frame towards the living room. 

“Jesus! We’ve been over this” Minseok says jumping slightly “Knock on the door!”

“But that’s so boring” Jongdae whines. 

“What if I was, I don’t know, naked or something!” Minseok exclaims. 

“You’d chase a spider while naked?” Jongdae asks while knitting his eyebrows together. 

“Is that why you’re here?” Minseok asks “ The spider? I need a guardian angel for this?”

“Are you saying you don’t want my help?” Jongdae asks. 

“No, please help, it crawled under my couch somewhere” Minseok says, handing Jongdae the glass he was going to use to catch it “I swear to God it jumped.”

“Well yeah it’s a jumping spider, specifically Euophrys frontalis” Jongdae laughs “and he’s a boy, not an it.”

“Sorry for misgendering him?” Minseok says, a little confused. 

“You’re forgiven” Jongdae smiles, taking the glass from Minseok before dropping to the floor to find the spider “come here, little guy.” 

Jongdae nudges the little spider with his finger until it runs out from under the couch. Jongdae carefully catches the little spider in the cup making sure not to hurt the spider. 

“I need a piece of paper or something” Jongdae says, looking at the little fuzzy spider in the cup. 

“Right” Minseok says before running into the kitchen to grab a random piece of scrap paper. He comes back into the living room with the page. “Here you go.”

“There’s no dust on my hand” Jongdae says while he takes the paper “Do you dust under your couch?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I have hardwood” Minseok answers as Jongdae gets up with the little spider in the cup. He tenses as Jongdae holds the spider up near eye level “Ok bye spider leave my home.”

“Aw  he's kinda cute with his big eyes and fuzzy legs” Jongdae says looking at the little brown and orange spider. 

“I guess” Minseok says before going closer to the spider “He looks like Lucas the spider” 

“Maybe I’ll make him my office pet” Jongdae smiles mentally thinking about setting up the little enclosure. 

“Does that mean you’ll kill him?” Minseok says, feeling oddly upset at the idea. 

“Why does everyone think you’re dead if you’re in the angel world!” Jongdae says a little upset before thinking it through “Ok fine I guess I see why but it’s not true.” 

“Maybe I’ll keep the spider and you can come visit him.” Minseok says watching the cute little spider exploring the glass. 

“Should I help you set up his enclosure then?” Jongdae smiles “I know everything they need!”

“Of course you do” Minseok laughs lightly “Yeah alright let’s do it.” 

“Ok let’s put him somewhere out of Tan’s reach for now” Jongdae says looking around for exactly that. 

“Could put in him a cupboard” Minseok answers. 

“That works” Jongdae nods before putting the glass in a kitchen cupboard “Ok we’re going to need either a beanie baby box or we can get an enclosure at a pet store.”

“I don’t have one of those, so pet store it is.” Minseok nods. 

“I love pet stores” Jongdae smiles. 

“I am not at all surprised by that” Minseok laughs. 

Minseok drives him and Jongdae to the nearest pet store and on the way the boys debate what name they should give the spider. 

“Lucas just makes sense” Minseok says while keeping his eyes on the road. 

“But it’s so unoriginal” Jongdae whines. 

“You’re kinda whiney” Minseok laughs. 

“Oh” Jongdae says softly “Sorry”

“Don’t be. I like it, makes you more... human” Minseok smiles. 

Jongdae smiles to himself. He doesn’t exactly know why but he likes the idea that he has human characteristics. 

“If you don’t like Lucas, what do you know what you want to name him?” Minseok asks. 

“Hmmm what about Tom?” Jongdae asks. 

“Like Tom Holland? Might as well name him Peter Parker” Minseok says as he pulls into the parking lot. 

“We could name him Cos or Sin” Jongdae suggests. 

“What?” Minseok laughs, finding a parking spot. 

“You named your cat Tan so...” Jongdae says. 

“I kind of like Cos” Minseok nods “It’s cute.”

“Cos the jumping spider” Jongdae smiles. 

Jongdae goes over the list of things little Cos will need and Minseok adds it to the cart. They spend quite a lot of time picking out the decor for the enclosure. Jongdae insists Cos will need something like a large piece of bark to crawl on and Minseok is very picky about what piece they should pick. Minseok also thinks the enclosure should have some orange to bring out the orange around Cos’ eyes so they find some plastic orange flowers to add as well. Once they’re both happy with the enclosure decor, as well as other supplies for Cos, Minseok pays for everything and they leave excited to give Cos his new home. 

“I’ve never had a pet” Jongdae says as they get into the car “I have a plant but no pet.”

“Now you have one, you’re a spider dad now” Minseok smiles. 

“If I had to pick someone to be pet parents with, I’d pick you every time” Jongdae smiles back before putting on his seatbelt. 

“Really? Not one of your angel friends?” Minseok asks. 

“They’re great, really nice people, but I prefer you” Jongdae says honestly. 

“Wow” Minseok says with a small smile “I’m honoured. If it means anything at all, you’re my favourite angel.”

“Thanks” Jongdae laughs. 


	3. Sleepy Times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is quite the chapter ;)

“Wheein~” Jongdae sings “Do you have my Baekhyun report reviewed yet?”

“Actually I do finally” Wheein smiles handing Jongdae the file “Do you have something for me?”

“Helped Minseok catch a spider and now he’s our pet” Jongdae smiles handing his report to Wheein. 

“You adopted a spider with a human?” Wheein asks. 

“Yeah, why not?” Jongdae smiles. 

“You do spend a lot of time with him” Wheein nods. 

Jongdae opens the file and looks over at the page for his grade. He frowns at the 9/10 stars. He worked so hard on the Baekhyun case and it worked out so well. 

“Why’d I only get 9/10 gold stars?” Jongdae pouts. 

“It was good and you did a great job but you forgot to write how you rewrote Baekhyun’s memory so he’d forget about angels”

“I had to rewrite his memory?” Jongdae asks nervously “I’ve never had to do that before.”

“For any animal with a language, like humans, you have to rewrite memory to prevent them spreading the word about angels” Wheein explains “We’re trying to keep this a secret? A couple humans is fine so it’s not a big deal but make sure to do it next time.” 

“What about Minseok?” Jongdae asks. 

“Why do you keep going back to Minseok?” Wheein asks “I’m just curious, nothing wrong with it. He’s a good guy and he does deserve an angel.”

“I just like him? He’s a really interesting human” Jongdae smiles. 

“Well, then I’d say he needs to keep his memories because otherwise there’s no way he could return your feelings.”

“What?” Jongdae asks. 

“You like him?” Wheein repeats “Like a crush.”

“I wouldn’t say- wait angels can have crushes?” Jongdae asks. 

“Of course!” Wheein smiles.

“I didn’t know that” Jongdae says, taken back “So I have a crush?”

“I mean sounds like it” Wheein nods with a smile. 

“It feels... warm and fuzzy” Jongdae says thinking about his feelings towards Minseok “I like it.”

“Then I’d suggest you keep finding excuses to help Minseok” Wheein winks. 

“I will” Jongdae smiles. 

Jongdae walks away and of course immediately goes to bother Yongsun about getting another Minseok case, although he’ll probably have to wait a while to get one. Time does work differently in the angel world but it still usually takes a couple of hours. While Jongdae hangs out around Yongsun he thinks about Wheein said. He never considered falling in love... ever. A crush isn’t love but Jongdae didn’t even know that was possible. 

He supposes he has felt differently about Minseok for a while but he always assumed it was because Minseok was a human. Now looking back it’s so obvious though. His heartbeat speeding up when Minseok leans in close. The way Jongdae always wants to be around him. Minseok’s ability to make Jongdae smile and laugh at the dumbest of jokes. 

“You’re thinking a lot.” Yongsun smiles looking at Jongdae “Usually you talk more but now you’re just staring at that plant.”

“Thinking about what Minseok will need next” Jongdae smiles at Yongsun. 

“Sure” Yongsun laughs “Well you can stop thinking about it because I have Minseok’s next case.”

“Yes! Can I please have it?” Jongdae says excitedly. 

“Alright here” Yongsun says, holding out her hand before the file materializes in it. 

“You’re the best” Jongdae smiles before taking it. 

“You only say that because I support your human addiction” Yongsun laughs “well at this point it’s just a Minseok addiction.”

“A harmless addiction that brings nothing but happiness to everyone involved” Jongdae replies. 

“Right” Yongsun laughs “Just go help him out with that chipped tooth.”

“Chipped tooth!” Jongdae exclaims out of worry before quickly reading the file “Why is he drunk again! At 3 pm? What!”

“You picked a funny one” Yongsun smiles. 

“Yeah well he’s usually more responsible” Jongdae sighs “See you.”

“Bye!” Yongsun answers as Jongdae walks away. 

~=+•+=~

“Minseok, why are you drunk?” Jongdae sighs as he teleports into Minseok’s apartment. 

“Voice?” Minseok says popping his head over the back of the couch “Oh, Dae! You know it would be cooler if you were a fairy cause then you could be JongFae.”

“That’s not funny” Jongdae says ironically smiling “You chipped your tooth and you’re making puns?”

“Oh yeah that’s right” Minseok says remembering how he hit his tooth with the bottle “Can you fix it?”

“Healing is not my strong suit but I can try.” Jongdae says before walking over towards the couch. 

“You’re always here to help me when I need it” Minseok says putting his beer bottle down “you’re like my...”

“Guardian angel?” Jongdae smiles before sitting on the couch beside Minseok. 

“Yeah! Oh” Minseok laughs to himself. 

“Open your mouth please” Jongdae says. 

Minseok does as he’s told and Jongdae raises his hands up to hold Minseok’s face steady before pausing for a second. Before, he wouldn’t think twice about it but now that he knows about his feelings... he’s hesitant to hold Minseok’s face. Then again he does need to heal him. 

“You know I got drunk for a reason” Minseok says softly as Jongdae hesitates. 

“What reason?” Jongdae asks as his heart races. Minseok’s soft voice is usually comforting but for some reason, it’s making Jongdae nervous right now. 

“I figured if I got drunk I’d do something stupid and you’d have a reason to show up” Minseok says honestly. 

“Good plan then” Jongdae says softly before putting on a small smile “it worked perfectly.”

“Yeah” Minseok smiles. 

“Ok, hold still” Jongdae says before finally having the courage to hold Minseok’s face. 

Jongdae concentrates on healing the tooth. He’s never done anything more than scrapes and bruises but he knows it’s technically possible to fix teeth as well. It’s different because he can’t use Minseok’s own healing powers to do it. 

“That feels weird” Minseok says as his cheeks start to heat up. 

“I told you I’m not good at this” Jongdae says, trying to concentrate on Minseok’s tooth. 

“Jongdae, I'm not drunk anymore” Minseok says seriously. 

“Uh yeah ok so I healed your liver by accident then” Jongdae says biting his lip “teeth are weird.”

“I can just go to the dentist” Minseok says, obviously a little less comfortable with Jongdae’s hands on his face while he’s sober. 

“No, I can do this” Jongdae says firmly. 

“Ok” Minseok whispers. 

Jongdae puts all his effort into fixing Minseok’s tooth and slowly it starts to fill in the gap. Jongdae smiles at the progress and continues to use his power to fix it. Once Minseok’s tooth is entirely fixed Jongdae pulls his hands off of Minseok’s face proud of his work. 

“Jongdae?” Minseok says, looking concerned. 

“Yes?” Jongdae asks as Minseok slowly fades into darkness “Why are the lights off?”

“Jongdae!” Minseok yells as Jongdae feels his head hit something that’s not as soft as a couch. 

“You’re warm” Jongdae mumbles into Minseok’s arm. 

“Jongdae! Wake up!” Minseok says panicking while lightly shaking the angel in his arms. 

“I’m just... sleepy” Jongdae says as he drifts fully out of consciousness. 

“Jongdae?” Minseok asks, looking at the completely still angel. “Fuck!”

Minseok quickly gets off the couch and lays Jongdae down flat. With no other idea of what to do, he calls Baekhyun. 

“Baekhyun I need you to come over ASAP” Minseok says as soon as Baekhyun answers the call “Jongdae passed out and I have no idea what to do.”

“Jongdae?” Baekhyun asks “Oh my god the angel dude. I was almost convinced I was so drunk I just thought he was there.”

“Well he was really there and now... just come help me!” Minseok says as the panic starts to set in “I-I don’t know what happened- he just-“

“Minseok, calm down” Baekhyun says, interrupting his friend “I’ll be right over, until then just... keep him comfortable.”

“Ok” Minseok says, taking a deep breath “I can do that.”

“Didn’t he say he knows Jongin and Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun asks “I’ll call them and see if they can make it.”

“Thank you so much Baekhyun” Minseok says, calming down a bit. 

“It’s no trouble” Baekhyun says “See you.”

“Yeah bye” Minseok says before hanging up. 

As soon as Minseok hangs up he moves right back to Jongdae. He grabs a throw pillow from the couch so he can put it under his head. When he lifts Jongdae’s head he notices it’s not as warm as it should be. He puts it gently on the pillow and then checks Jongdae’s temperature with his hand. Jongdae is definitely cold.

Minseok tries not to freak out. He drops to the ground so he’ll be eye level with Jongdae on the couch and checks to make sure Jongdae is actually still alive. He places his index and middle finger on Jongdae’s neck trying to feel for a pulse but he doesn’t feel one. 

“Ok don’t freak out” Minseok says to himself “you just uh haven’t felt it yet. He’s not dead, he’s an angel, they can’t die!”

Minseok moves his fingers around Jongdae’s neck looking for a pulse but he still can’t find one. 

“Come on!” Minseok yells. 

Minseok keeps trying to find a pulse but then he notices something. Jongdae’s chest is rising and falling. He’s breathing which means he’s alive. 

“Thank God” Minseok sighs “I really need to get better at finding a pulse.”

Just to double-check, Minseok puts his ear on Jongdae’s chest and sure enough, he hears his heart beating. Next Minseok realizes he should do something to keep Jongdae warm. He gets up off the ground and runs into his room and pulls the duvet off the bed. 

Once he’s wrapped Jongdae up in the duvet he tries to think of things he can use to warm Jongdae up. The best idea he has is just to cuddle with Jongdae on the couch, which considering the emotional trauma Minseok’s been put through, seems rather appealing. 

Minseok moves Jongdae over gently and slides beside him making sure to wrap his arms around Jongdae to warm him up. It seems to be working because, after around 10 minutes, Jongdae does warm up a bit. 

“Dude what are you doing?” Baekhyun asks as he walks into the living room. 

“Why does no one knock!” Minseok says frustrated. 

“I had a spare key from when I was pet sitting Tan so I figured I’d let myself in since it’s an emergency” Baekhyun explains “Jongin and Kyungsoo are busy but they’ll be over when they can.”

“I just don’t know what to do” Minseok says, pulling himself away from Jongdae. 

“Tell me what happened” Baekhyun says. 

“I chipped a tooth on a bottle while I was drunk so he showed up to fix it” Minseok starts “Then he tried to fix it for a while and accidentally made me sober. Eventually, he succeeded and then he looked... weird like he was sick. Then his eyes just... they looked glazed over and he collapsed. He said he was sleepy then he just stopped moving and he’s been like that since.”

“He just came to fix your tooth? I thought he just helped with big things like me and Chanyeol” Baekhyun answers. 

“He just does that for me, lots of little things cause he thinks he messed up my first case when I lost my job” Minseok explains “but that’s not important, he’s... dying or something and I need you to help somehow.”

“Can you get another angel to come and help?” Baekhyun asks. 

“No, I don’t know any other angels” Minseok answers “Even if I did, I don’t even know how to contact Jongdae. He just shows up.”

“I guess we’ll just do whatever we’d do if he was human.” Baekhyun answers. 

“He’s cold and passed out” Minseok answers “what would we do?”

“Keep him warm for sure” Baekhyun answers “oh that’s why you were cuddling.”

“Yeah” Minseok nods. 

“Let’s get his temperature” Baekhyun answers “Not that I know what it is normally but-“

“He’s normally the same temperature as humans” Minseok answers. 

“How do you- you’re pretty cuddly with him normally, aren’t you?” Baekhyun smirks. 

“Stop wasting time! Just get the thermometer!” Minseok says quickly. 

“I don’t know where you keep it” Baekhyun says, still smirking. 

“Oh right” Minseok says before heading towards the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. 

Minseok grabs the thermometer and walks back into the living room. He opens Jongdae’s mouth and puts it under his tongue and waits for it to beep with the temperature.

“33 degrees” Minseok reads off the thermometer “that’s bad, isn’t it? We’re supposed to be 37 right?”

“Yeah, 37 is normal. He has hypothermia if that applies to angels” Baekhyun says “you should probably find a way to keep him warm other than just the blanket. Do you have any hot water bottles or anything?”

“I have a couple magic bags” Minseok answers. 

“That should work” Baekhyun nods “of course you could go back to cuddling him.”

“If it keeps him alive I will” Minseok says, narrowing his eyes. 

After an hour of heating and reheating the magic bags, they get Jongdae to 35.5 degrees and keep him around there. Jongdae still hasn’t shown any sign of waking up though and Minseok is starting to get really worried and tense. 

“It’ll be ok” Baekhyun says as Minseok stares at Jongdae. 

“No, it’s not going to be fucking ok Baekhyun!” Minseok yells. 

“Well, what am I supposed to do! I can’t fix him! I’m not a doctor and even if I was he’s not human!” Baekhyun yells back. 

“I don’t know! Think of something!” Minseok yells as his voice cracks slightly “I can’t be the reason he’s hurt! I just can’t...”

“I know, I’m sorry hyung” Baekhyun says softly “But this isn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it is!” Minseok says getting choked up “He fixed my stupid tooth! I could have just gone to the dentist! It’s my fault it happened in the first place. If I wasn’t drinking-“

“Listen, Jongdae did it. He fixed your tooth. He didn’t have to but he did.” Baekhyun reasons. 

“Don’t blame him” Minseok says quieter “He’s always doing things for me, he doesn’t deserve blame.”

“It was mmmfault” Jongdae mumbles waking up slowly. 

“Jongdae!” Minseok yells before running over to Jongdae laying on the couch. 

“Juice” Jongdae says realizing how dry his throat feels “please?”

“On it” Baekhyun says running towards the kitchen. 

“Are you ok?” Minseok says putting his hand on Jongdae’s forehead “you’re still a little cold.”

“Used too much power” Jongdae smiles before opening his eyes.

“You shouldn’t have done that” Minseok laughs lightly. 

“I told you I suck at healing” Jongdae says before trying to sit up “ugh I feel awful.”

“How do you think I feel? You just passed out. I had no idea what was going on” Minseok says, smiling a bit now that Jongdae seems to be waking up. 

“Here’s your juice” Baekhyun says, handing the glass to Jongdae. 

“Thanks” Jongdae says, drinking it right away “Oh Baekhyun.”

“Yeah hi” Baekhyun laughs “You gave us all a heart attack.”

“Sorry” Jongdae says before taking another big chug of juice “I didn’t mean to.”

“Can you die?” Minseok asks the question that’s been on his mind for over an hour. 

“What?” Jongdae asks before realizing why he asked that “an angel can’t die no.”

“Why does that sound like it’s not actually a no” Baekhyun says with an eyebrow raised. 

A knock on the door interrupts their conversation and Minseok gets up to answer the door. 

“How is he?” Jongin asks as Minseok opens the door. 

“Awake finally” Minseok answers before letting the couple in. 

“Sorry we were late, we came as soon as we could” Kyungsoo says following Minseok into the living room. 

“Hey! Jongin!” Jongdae smiles as he finishes his juice “are we having a party?”

“No, we're not having a party” Minseok says slightly upset “you were dying and I got everyone I could to come help.”

“I wasn’t dying” Jongdae shakes his head. 

“Yeah, but I didn’t know that” Minseok answers. 

“Can I have another juice please?” Jongdae asks Baekhyun. 

“Yes!” Baekhyun says, quickly taking the glass. 

“I know we haven’t met but I just want to thank you for helping us” Kyungsoo smiles “Jongin told me all about it.”

“Ah Wheein was right” Jongdae cringes slightly “humans need their memory wiped or they talk.”

“You’re going to wipe our memories?” Jongin pouts. 

“No no, I should have but apparently a couple of humans is fine so I’m off the hook” Jongdae explains. 

“I thought you were top of your class” Baekhyun laughs handing Jongdae the glass. 

“And a professional” Jongin adds. 

“I was and I am... but I guess I missed the day they mentioned the mind wipe thing...” Jongdae says looking down “Can we not team up on me? I just came out of a coma.”

“I’m pretty sure comas last longer than an hour and a half” Baekhyun scoffs. 

“What do you know? Are you an angel? No, so it was a coma.” Jongdae pouts “plus I can’t even teleport right now, so I’m still kinda sick.”

“Does that mean you’re stuck here?” Minseok asks, trying to suppress a smile. 

“Yeah probably for another hour” Jongdae answers drinking his second cup of juice “I’m probably only gonna get like 3 stars on this.”

“Stars?” Kyungsoo asks. 

“It’s how our jobs are graded, we get gold star stickers” Jongdae explains. 

“So what do the stars give you?” Baekhyun asks. 

“They give me the ability to look at them? They’re stickers” Jongdae says, confused. 

“Why do you care how many you get then?” Baekhyun asks. 

“Why do you care what place you get in a tournament?” Jongdae asks rhetorically “it just matters to me.”

“Will winning a video game make you feel better?” Minseok asks with a smile. 

“Maybe” Jongdae smiles back. 

“You guys up for multiplayer?” Minseok asks everyone. 

“We’re down” Kyungsoo says after looking at Jongin. 

“I should probably get going. Chanyeol’s a great dad but he can’t make dinner and keep Sooyoung occupied at once.” Baekhyun says before waving to everyone “bye guys.”

“Bye Baekhyun hyung” Jongin and Kyungsoo say at the same time. 

“Bye Baek” Minseok says. 

“Should I be calling Baekhyun and Minseok hyung too?” Jongdae asks, pushing the duvet off himself. 

“No? Aren’t you like thousands of years old?” Minseok asks. 

“I’m 28” Jongdae answers before making room for everyone else on the couch. 

“28? But like I’m human years that’s...” Minseok trails off. 

“28, I was born in 1992, September 21st” Jongdae answers. 

“Oh that’s weird” Minseok says sitting beside Jongdae “then yeah call me hyung you, little rude angel. You knew this whole time!”

“Yeah but it’s not like angels use honorifics” Jongdae answers watching the screen light up as Minseok picks out a video game to play “That’s a human thing... some groups of dolphins.”

“Dolphins talk?” Jongin asks picking up his controller. 

“I said some dolphins” Jongdae smiles picking up his own controller “now let’s play.”

“Bring it on” Minseok smirks. 


	4. Stolen Case

“I don’t know about this Jongdae” Yongsun says, holding the file in her hand. 

“Why not? It’s a Minseok file! I get all the Minseok files!” Jongdae whines with a huge pout on his face. 

“You get all the small Minseok files” Yongsun corrects “this one isn’t small.”

“So what! I can take it!” Jongdae says not even noticing he’s floating because of how fired up his emotions are “Please don’t give it to anyone else!”

“But-“ Yongsun starts. 

“Please!” Jongdae begs “You know I’ll do a good job!”

“Alright fine” Yongsun sighs “but next time there’s a big Minseok file, I really can’t give it to you.”

“Why not” Jongdae goes straight back to pouting. 

“You shouldn’t even get this one, the little Minseok cases were pushing it” Yongsun frowns “You're supposed to be on cats and dogs with random tests or other species but you haven’t taken a pet case in months.”

“Fine” Jongdae sighs “next big Minseok file, you can give it to someone else but the time after that it’s mine.”

“I can agree to that” Yongsun says with a smile. 

“Yay! Bye Yongsun!” Jongdae runs off excitedly. 

Within a minute he appears in the middle of Minseok’s living room. 

“Minseok! I mean- Hyung!” Jongdae calls “I’m here!” 

Jongdae frowns when he doesn’t hear a response. Maybe Minseok is out, he should have read the file before transporting but he was really excited. Jongdae apparates the file in his hand to read it over. 

“Food poisoning? Oh yikes, that’s awful” Jongdae says before making sure Minseok is actually in his apartment. “Master bedroom, ok gotcha”

Jongdae makes the file disappear and walks over to the bedroom and knocks on the door. 

“Minseok? I’m here to help” Jongdae says loud enough for Minseok to hear him across the door. 

“Now you finally knock” Minseok laughs from inside. 

“Can I come in?” Jongdae asks while slowly moving his hand to the handle. 

“Please do” Minseok says quietly. 

Jongdae walks in and sees Minseok curled up in his bed shaking. Jongdae’s heart pangs painfully in his chest. Seeing Minseok in pain is definitely not something he ever wanted to see but he is here to make it better and that’s exactly what he’ll do. 

“Do you know how it happened?” Jongdae asks. 

“Don’t you?” Minseok asks looking up. 

“Oh right” Jongdae says before making his file appear again “Salmonella poisoning from salmon sashimi. Huh didn’t know you could get it from salmon but I guess if the water was contaminated that makes sense. That must be where the name is from.”

“Sushi has never hurt me so badly” Minseok frowns. 

“Well don’t worry because I will help you” Jongdae says before sitting beside Minseok on the bed “I’ll heal you and you’ll be fine.”

“No!” Minseok yells as he opens his eyes widely “No healing! Not again.”

“I’m fine now, it’s just a little bacteria. I can handle it” Jongdae says, putting a hand on Minseok. 

“No” Minseok says seriously “I’ll be fine, no healing.”

“How many times have you thrown up?” Jongdae asks. 

“12” Minseok answers quietly. 

“And do you think that hasn’t damaged you?” Jongdae asks. 

“It hurts” Minseok admits “My throat burns.”

“Can I just heal that then? It’s super simple, I’ve done it before” Jongdae asks. 

“You have?” Minseok asks skeptically. 

“Not exactly but I’ve healed chemical burns and it’s really the same thing” Jongdae explains. 

“Fine but only because it hurts so much” Minseok says before sitting up to face Jongdae. 

Jongdae places his hands on Minseok’s shoulders almost as if he was going to give him a massage. He focuses on healing not only Minseok’s throat but also getting rid of the bacteria in his system. 

“Jongdae my throat is better” Minseok says looking down at the hands that are still on him “you can stop.”

“Almost done” Jongdae says as he scrubs Minseok’s system clean “there done.”

Minseok lightly slaps Jongdae’s arm. 

“Ow” Jongdae laughs rubbing his arm even though he doesn't really hurt.

“I told you not to!” Minseok says trying to sound serious but he has to hold back his own laughter “you cured me didn't you?” 

“Only a little” Jongdae smiles “you’ll still need to take it slow. Sports drinks and saltine crackers only for now. You might not have any more bacteria in you anymore but your body is still on edge.”

“But no more throwing up?” Minseok asks expectantly. 

“If you take it slow, no, but like I said your stomach is sensitive.” Jongdae repeats. 

“So are you going to stay here and help me?” Minseok asks with a smile. 

“Minseok did you try to get food poisoning so I’d spend more time with you?” Jongdae asks. 

“I thought we agreed that’s hyung to you?” Minseok smirks “and no, I’m sorry but I wouldn’t poison myself just to see you. Not worth it.”

“I think I should be offended but I’m glad. Don’t poison yourself on purpose” Jongdae laughs “I’ll go get you some electrolytes.”

“You know I also heard a Harry Potter movie marathon helps sensitive stomachs heal” Minseok smiles. 

“Funny I think I heard that too” Jongdae laughs “guess we’ll have to test it and see.” 

Turns out it takes more than a Harry Potter marathon for Minseok to feel better. It takes 3 whole days before Minseok is back on regular food but neither Jongdae nor Minseok is all too upset about it. They’ve never been able to spend so much time together so when Minseok is finally healthy, they’re both a little sad when Jongdae has to leave. Though they felt close before, they certainly feel even closer after spending three whole days together. They learn so much about, their favourite shows and music, what hobbies Minseok likes and how much of a workaholic Jongdae is. Jongdae even explains how the angel world works and how he learned to be a guardian angel. Jongdae really feels like he's a part of Minseok's life for real and it makes him so happy. Not that poping in and out of his life isn't fun but it's more fun to stay for a long time. 

~=+•+=~

“What do you mean you gave Byulyi a Minseok file?” Jongdae asks. 

“I told you, next time it’s a big one, I can’t give it to you” Yongsun frowns “I’m sorry Jongdae but I had to, it was about making sure Minseok stands up for what he wants. It was a whole big thing, probably a lot like your Baekhyun case. You can’t have a case like that until at least next year.”

“Unless it’s Minseok” Jongdae says firmly “you said if Minseok had another big case I would take it.”

“Yeah, that’s your one loophole” Yongsun nods “listen if it were up to me, I’d let you do whatever you want but we have rules for a reason and I’m already bending them a lot.”

“I know” Jongdae says, relaxing a bit “Sorry, I know you’re doing everything you can.”

“I can give you a puppy case in the meantime, by the time you’re done another Minseok case will probably pop up” Yongsun says holding out a file for Jongdae. 

“No that’s ok, I’ll just hang out in the spa and wait” Jongdae answers “relax a bit.”

“I haven’t seen you take a break since... you never have actually” Yongsun says remembering all 6 years Jongdae has been working as a guardian angel. 

“Yeah well better late than never, right?” Jongdae says before walking away from Yongsun’s desk. 

“Jongdae, the spa is to the left” Yongsun says as she watches Jongdae walk the wrong way. 

“Right” Jongdae laughs. 

He turns left and once he’s out of Yongsun’s sight, he becomes invisible. Jongdae walks right for the transport room. Byulyi might have taken the case but that doesn’t mean Jongdae can’t make sure she’s doing a good job. Jongdae has grown rather protective of his human and he doesn’t really want to let another angel just swoop in and take his... job. 

Jongdae pops into Minseok’s closet just as planned. He stays invisible as he sneaks his head out and makes sure no one is in the bedroom. Once the coast is clear he leaves the closet and quietly makes his way to the bedroom door. He opens it slightly and sees Minseok talking to Byulyi in the living room. Jongdae leans in as much as he can without losing his balance or opening the door too much. 

“Am I done?” Minseok sighs, he sounds exhausted. 

Byulyi shouldn’t have been making him tired. He had food poisoning a couple of weeks ago! He’s probably still tired... at least a little tired. Point is Byulyi should have been more careful with him. 

“Not quite” Byulyi answers “but it’s not something I can help with. I’ve given you the tools and insight you need but you have to complete the last step.” 

“But I hate confrontation and-“ Minseok starts. 

“Do I have to send you into another universe?” Byulyi asks. 

So Byulyi did use the same technique Jongdae used with Baekhyun. That explains why Minseok is so tired. 

“No, please don’t” Minseok says quickly. 

“So then you know it’s necessary” Byulyi responds. 

“But Jongdae-“ Minseok starts again. 

Jongdae loses his balance as he hears his name and crashes to the floor. Invisibility can’t save him now. 

“Let me guess, Jongdae?” Byulyi says looking at the now much more open bedroom door. 

“Uh” Jongdae says turning off his invisibility “hi” 

“What? How is he here?” Minseok asks Byulyi. 

“Better question is why did Byulyi steal my case” Jongdae says, getting off the ground. 

“I didn’t steal your case” Byulyi laughs “it literally said “anyone EXCEPT Jongdae” on the file.”

“Wow, rude” Jongdae frowns. 

“It’s actually a good thing you’re here though. I’ll cover for you and say I brought you myself” Byulyi says with a small smile “I’ll get going but Minseok, you know what to do.”

“I thought I’d have a little more time!” Minseok says looking anywhere but Jongdae. 

Minseok is acting weird actually. He hasn’t looked at Jongdae except for once when Jongdae turned off his invisibility. What did Byulyi do to him? 

“Minseok?” Jongdae asks “what does she mean?” 

“Remember when you said you messed up my first case because you didn’t teach me how to stand up for myself?” Minseok says looking down at his feet “Byulyi sort of uh...”

“Taught you how to stand up for yourself?” Jongdae asks. 

“Yeah so now I-“ Minseok says before laughing a bit. 

“Don’t need me? Because your first case is completed?” Jongdae says even though saying it feels like someone drove a knife through his heart. 

“What? No” Minseok says his eyes shooting up to Jongdae “Is that the only reason you came? Just to try to finish the first case?”

“Not exactly” Jongdae says, suddenly being the one not able to look at Minseok. 

“Not exactly?” Minseok repeats stepping closer to Jongdae “I thought you just liked me and wanted to help”

“Well I do, want to help you” Jongdae swallows, taking a step away from Minseok. 

“You don’t like me?” Minseok asks again, taking a step closer to close the distance.

“Ye-well uh” Jongdae stutters feeling a little trapped “next question please.”

“I need you to answer me” Minseok says firmly. 

“Minseok” Jongdae says before looking at Minseok with pleading eyes “I can’t”

“Then leave” Minseok says stepping back. 

“What?” Jongdae asks quietly, worried if he says anything louder his voice will crack. 

“If you don’t like me, then why are you here?” Minseok says with a tone of voice Jongdae has never heard. He sounds angry but not a normal angry, he’s hurt? “I thought we were... doesn’t matter. If you don’t care about me then I don’t want to see you anymore.”

“I care about you!” Jongdae says loudly “please don't make me leave!” 

“You care about me but you don’t like me? Is that some sort of angel thing?” Minseok asks sounding frustrating. 

“I like you too much” Jongdae answers “ok?”

“What do you mean?” Minseok asks with a puzzled look. 

“Angels aren’t supposed to get attached. Or I thought that anyway but I like you” Jongdae says quietly “this is all new to me, please don’t make me say it again.”

“Do you like me like a friend?” Minseok asks. 

“Yes but also no” Jongdae admits “how do you humans do this, this is so embarrassing.”

“Admitting our feelings?” Minseok asks placing a hand on Jongdae’s cheek to make Jongdae look at him “it’s not easy for us either.”

“So you?” Jongdae asks, seeing the smile creeping onto Minseok’s face. 

“Yeah, I like you too” Minseok laughs “How could I not? A handsome angel literally drops from the sky to fix all my problems. You’re always so nice to me.”

“I like being nice to you” Jongdae smiles shyly “I like being nice to everyone but it’s different when it’s you. I want to be with you because it’s what I want, not just to make you happy.”

“That was the closest you’ve ever been to selfish” Minseok teases before taking Jongdae’s hand in his “So how does this work? I’ve never dated an angel.”

“I’ve never dated, period” Jongdae laughs “but we can figure it out. I’ll keep coming as much as I can.”

“Do you have to go now?” Minseok asks. 

“Technically I’m not supposed to be here at all so I think I can stay a little longer” Jongdae says just enjoying the feeling of holding Minseok’s hand. 

“Long enough for a date?” Minseok asks. 

“What do you have in mind?” Jongdae blushes. 

“I know our Harry Potter marathon was a while ago but maybe I could rent Fantastic Beasts? And the sequel?” Minseok smiles. 

“What about the third one?” Jongdae asks before seeing the confusion on Minseok’s face “oh it’s not out yet is it?”

“Nope” Minseok laughs, shaking his head. 

“Ok as long as we cuddle” Jongdae smiles. 

Minseok nods with a huge smile.

“And by the way” Jongdae says before leaning in to whisper in Minseok’s ear “I was semi-conscious when I was in the coma thing.”

“I had to keep you warm!” Minseok defends, somehow feeling embarrassed by his past actions. 

“That’s ok. I liked it” Jongdae smiles. 

“Good” Minseok says, blushing a little “I’ll go make popcorn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had salmonella poisoning this year. I hated it. Stupid onion. No angel for me either, only suffering, lucky Minseok.


	5. Sneaky Dae

“Yongsun~” Jongdae sings walking up to her desk “Please give me a reason to see Minseok.”

“Not yet, sorry Dae” Yongsun smiles “you look happier lately. I mean you always look happy but now you’re just... I don’t know there’s something.”

“I am happy” Jongdae smiles widely. 

“Anything to do with dating Minseok?” Byulyi asks, walking up to the desk before looking at Yongsun “Got something for me?”

“Sure!” Yongsun says handing Byulyi a file before smirking at Jongdae “You’re dating Minseok now?”

“I think so” Jongdae blushes. 

“Minseok’s whole case was actually about asking Jongdae out, which is why it had that “No Jongdae” label” Byulyi explains. 

“That explains why I couldn’t figure out how to help him stand up for himself” Jongdae says, realizing it was never his fault. 

“Yeah it wasn’t your thing to handle” Byulyi smiles “anyway I better get going, this case isn’t going to solve itself.”

“Good luck!” Yongsun smiles “and for you Jongdae, I just got the Minseok file.”

“Yes! Please!” Jongdae says, more excited to see Minseok than he's ever been before. 

~=+•+=~

“Hey hyung” Jongdae says, appearing beside Minseok in the bathroom while Minseok looks in the sink for his lost contact. 

“Hi, Jongdae” Minseok says, turning to face him. 

“Are you not scared of me anymore?” Jongdae pouts. 

“Would you prefer I was?” Minseok laughs “I’m sort of used to you appearing now.”

“And I like appearing” Jongdae smirks. 

“Your flirting is so weird” Minseok smiles widely “but it’s really cute.”

“Thank you, you’re cute too” Jongdae replies “Now I believe you need help finding your contact?”

“Yes, please it’s my last set” Minseok says looking back down at the ground “I dropped it somewhere here, I don’t think it’s in the sink though.”

“Probably the ground then” Jongdae says before getting on the ground to look for them. He very quickly finds the little plastic contact. “Yup! Here it is!”

Jongdae pokes the contact and it sticks to his finger. He stands up and gives it to Minseok. 

“Great, I'll just wash it” Minseok says before picking up his lense solution. “wait... shit it’s torn.”

“And that’s bad?” Jongdae asks, knowing nothing about contacts. 

“Yeah, it means I can’t wear it” Minseok frowns. 

“So now what?” Jongdae asks. 

“I guess I’ll have to go to the optometrist to get some more” Minseok sighs “but I’ll need my glasses to drive there.”

“You have glasses?” Jongdae asks. 

“Yeah, I just don’t really like wearing them” Minseok says before walking out of the bathroom towards his bedroom. 

“Why not?” Jongdae asks following Minseok. 

“They get dirty and I have to push them up a lot” Minseok explains “it’s annoying.”

“I bet they’re cute though” Jongdae smiles. 

Minseok takes the thin silvery metal rimmed round glasses out of his bedside table drawer and puts them on his face before turning to Jongdae with a pout. 

“They are cute” Jongdae says, stepping closer “I like them.”

“That almost makes wearing them worth it” Minseok chuckles “but the prescription is a little outdated so I’ll stick to contacts.” 

“Hey you know I was thinking” Jongdae starts “on the way to the optometrist it would be ok if you had to make some pit stops.”

“You want me to wear these  _ that _ badly?” Minseok asks. 

“Yes but I was thinking about how once you get your contacts, my job will be done and I’ll have to leave” Jongdae says interlocking Minseok’s fingers in his “so you know if you needed help with... eating lunch, so you wouldn’t be lonely, I could help with that too.”

“I guess being alone would really suck” Minseok laughs “you’re really becoming quite the little rebel angel, aren’t you?”

“I have a noble reason” Jongdae says, trying to be serious. 

“Mmmhmm” Minseok nods “Alright, I’ll take you to my favourite Japanese place. Let’s go.”

Jongdae follows Minseok to his car and Minseok starts driving them to the Japanese restaurant. Minseok turns on the radio and Jongdae excitedly sings along to the song. 

“I mean I should have guessed you’d have the voice of an angel” Minseok laughs as Jongdae sings the song perfectly. 

“That is an accurate stereotype, we all sing very well” Jongdae smiles “You’re really good though, you’d fit right in.”

“Thanks” Minseok smiles “I’ve won a few contests but I prefer to do it just for fun.”

“I’m always a willing audience” Jongdae smiles at Minseok even though Minseok has his eyes glued to the road and won’t see him. 

“I’ll keep it in mind” Minseok laughs. 

They sing along to a few more songs before they arrive at the restaurant. It has a beautiful interior and Jongdae is in awe. He’s never actually been in a restaurant so that alone makes him excited but this place is just incredible. The artwork on the walls is stunning and the whole vibe of the place is so welcoming. 

Minseok pulls out a chair for Jongdae and he smiles before sitting down. Jongdae quickly gets up and pulls out Minseok’s chair for him which earns him a laugh from Minseok. 

Jongdae loves Minseok’s laugh. It’s so light and wonderful and it makes his heart swell. His smile too. There’s nothing he’d rather look at than Minseok’s gummy smile and the way his eyes smile along with it. Then there’s Minseok’s cheeks-

“Ready to order?” The waiter asks walking up to the table. 

“Oh uh” Jongdae says as he stops starting at Minseok and picks up the menu “What’s udon?”

“It’s a noodle?” The waiter says a little confused about the question “thicker than ramen.”

“Do you want me to order?” Minseok asks Jongdae. 

“That’s probably best” Jongdae nods. 

“Two orders of tendon donburi please” Minseok smiles putting down his menu. 

“What’s that?” Jongdae asks as the waiter walks away. 

“Tempura in a bowl of rice with some sauce” Minseok explains “It’s really good, I think you’ll like it... you can eat right?”

“Yeah, I just don’t really need to” Jongdae answers. 

“Weird... I mean it makes sense but it’s still kinda weird” Minseok responds. 

“Do they have ice cream here? I want to try it” Jongdae asks. 

“They do but I know a better place down the road” Minseok answers “we can go after this.”

“This is like a real date” Jongdae smiles to himself “I’m so lucky.”

“I think we’re both lucky” Minseok answers “and it’s not like a real date, this is a date.”

“So we’re dating then?” Jongdae asks. 

“If you want to, sure” Minseok nods with a smile “I just wish I had my contacts, these glasses are getting on my nerves.”

“I would fix it but I’d have to go so I can’t” Jongdae answers “plus they are really cute.”

“Will you stop saying that?” Minseok blushes. 

“No, because it’s true” Jongdae laughs.

Teasing Minseok like this might be his new favourite thing. Seeing his flustered face and little smile is just so worth it. Sometimes he even gets to hear Minseok laugh, it's the best.

“Your sweaters are also cute.” Jongdae says enjoying Minseok’s reaction “Especially the big ones that hide part of your hands.”

“I haven’t worn that in a while since it got warmer out” Minseok responds “how long have you thought I was cute?”

“I don’t know” Jongdae answers honestly “I didn’t know angels could have crushed so I didn’t even notice how I felt but looking back... I’ve always liked you. You were... special? I don’t know, I was just interested in you.”

“That’s... very pure” Minseok smiles “Although I’d prefer being called handsome over cute.”

“You are handsome” Jongdae answers quickly “but you’re also cute. Also pretty and beautiful. You’re everything. It’s... what makes you, you. You can be anything. You wear sweaters and have your hair down and you look so cuddly and cute but then you put your hair up and wear a muscle T and-“

“Your order” the waiter says, putting the bowls on the table. 

Jongdae takes his bowl and happily takes his first bite of the tempura shrimp. Good thing he's fairly used to chopsticks because it's not super easy to hold the shrimp while he eats it. 

“Don’t eat the tail” Minseok says, reaching out with his chopsticks to stop Jongdae “and I want to hear the rest of what you were going to saying.”

“This is good” Jongdae smiles while taking the tail off the way Minseok does “Why do they bread the tail of you can eat it?” 

“That’s just how shrimp is served. I have no idea why. I am definitely not a chef.” Minseok laughs “and don’t ignore me.”

“It looks nice. The muscle T. It’s not cute but it’s good” Jongdae says looking down at his food. Being teased isn’t as fun as teasing Minseok. 

“Do I look hot?” Minseok smirks.

“Maybe” Jongdae answers and Minseok just laughs. 

They finish their meal and Minseok gets them both some ice cream. They walk out of the ice cream parlour and start walking down the street back towards Minseok’s car. Jongdae ends up stealing some of Minseok’s and claiming it was for his education. He doesn’t really have an excuse when he tries to steal some a second time though. 

“You have your own!” Minseok yells but the smile on his face shows he’s not really mad. 

“I like yours” Jongdae says, trying to stab at it with his little spoon. 

“Then we can trade” Minseok offers. 

“No way you ate more than I did that would be unfair” Jongdae shakes his head before protecting his ice cream. 

“Maybe I'd have the same amount as you if you’d stop taking mine” Minseok says, raising an eyebrow. 

“Whatever” Jongdae pouts before grabbing a big spoonful of his own ice cream and stuffing it in his mouth. 

“You have some ice cream right...” Minseok says before brushing his thumb against Jongdae’s lip “there.”

Jongdae stands in place a little shocked by what just happened. Minseok brings his thumb to his lips and licks off the ice cream. He smiles when he sees he’s completely captured Jongdae’s focus. 

“Come here” Minseok smiles wider before gently pulling Jongdae towards him. 

Jongdae stays completely in shock as his heart races. Minseok is going to kiss him? Is that what’s happening? Minseok leans in further, completely invading his personal space before pausing for a second. 

“Jongdae have you ever kissed anyone?” Minseok asks, trying to read Jongdae’s face. 

“No?” Jongdae says quietly. 

“I should have guessed that” Minseok smiles before being serious again “do you trust me?”

Jongdae nods slowly and Minseok starts moving closer again. Minseok’s soft lips meet Jongdae’s and a wave of something radiates through his body. The first time Minseok touched him it felt warm and comfortable and it’s a similar feeling but even stronger with a certain level of attachment and appreciation. It’s a strong emotion and it surprises Jongdae a bit. Strong enough that he forgets to kiss back. After he’s processed the feeling though, he does start kissing back and he’s starting to see why humans like kissing all the time. It’s nice. Make him feel really good and he hopes he can kiss Minseok more often. But too soon Minseok pulls away and Jongdae suppresses a pout. 

“Good?” Minseok asks, his eyes carefully looking at Jongdae’s reaction. 

“Very good” Jongdae says as a smile slowly spreads across his face. 

“Good enough for you to stop stealing my ice cream?” Minseok asks. 

“Maybe, I’d need another to know” Jongdae smirks. 

“You are a greedy little angel” Minseok smiles before leaning in and kissing Jongdae again to distract him while he steals Jongdae’s ice cream. 

“Hey! Hyung!” Jongdae exclaims when he realizes what happened. 

~=+•+=~

“Going to the spa!” Jongdae says as he walks away from Yongsun. 

Jongdae is getting really tired of the lack of Minseok files. He misses his human. File or not he's going to see him. Sneaking out is wrong but... there’s no excuse, Jongdae just wants to sneak out. It’s not like it’s difficult either. Just turn invisible and poof out. Simple. 

“Hyung!” Jongdae exclaims as soon as he appears in Minseok’s apartment. 

“Jongdae?” Minseok asks, popping his head out of bedroom “there’s a problem?”

“Well no” Jongdae smiles mischievously “actually yes, the problem is I miss you.” 

“I missed you too so I guess that’s a valid reason” Minseok says before opening the bedroom door wider and gesturing for Jongdae to follow him “They just let you come down though? I thought they seemed kinda strict with when you get to be here.”

“Uh they might not actually know I’m here” Jongdae mumbles as he walks into the room.

“What did you say?” Minseok asks as he gives Cos a little spritz of water. 

“I snuck out” Jongdae rephrases a little louder. 

“I was going to let you hold Cos but I guess not” Minseok says, closing Cos’ enclosure “I don’t want that kind of bad influence around him.”

“Hyung” Jongdae whines. 

“I can’t believe you snuck out” Minseok says with a small smirk “I feel like I’m corrupting you.”

“I was already a bit of a... special angel” Jongdae smiles taking a step closer to Minseok “You just give me more of a reason to act like that.”

“About that whole angel thing, what makes you an angel. I mean I know you have powers and stuff but like an angel is someone with a halo and wings” Minseok says running a hand through Jongdae’s hair before sweetly pulling Jongdae in for a quick kiss “I don’t see any halo.”

“I have wings though” Jongdae says with a huge smile, no matter how many times they kiss Jongdae always feels his heart flutter “They just take up a lot of space so don’t usually have them out. So I mean not exactly your traditional “angel” but close enough.”

“One day you should show me your wings” Minseok says lightly running a hand between Jongdae’s shoulder blades which makes a shiver run up his spine. 

“I can do that” Jongdae blurts a little flustered by the touch. Jongdae feels a little more bold than usual. Maybe because he snuck out, maybe because Minseok has his hands all over him, but whatever the reason, Jongdae leans forward and kisses Minseok. Nothing too passionate, it's still rather tame but Jongdae almost never initiates the kisses so it's a big deal to him. He can't but smile a bit into the kiss and he wraps his arm around Minseok's waist. 

“Now?” Minseok asks as he pulls away.

Jongdae looks around and let's Minseok slip out of his hold as he takes a couple of steps back so he has enough room for his wings. He takes off his suit jacket and summons his wings. They tear through his dress shirt but he’ll put his jacket back on so it’s fine. After summoning his wings he stretches them a bit, giving them a little flap. They feel a little stiff, he should really use them more often. 

“Wow” Minseok says looking at the massive white feathered wings behind Jongdae’s back “You’re right that would be difficult to walk around with.”

Minseok walks closer to Jongdae and inspects the wings more carefully. 

“They’re shiny” Minseok says looking at the feathers “they’re white but they shine gold?”

“They’re pretty but they are kinda annoying” Jongdae says, extending them a bit “I can fly without them so kinda redundant.”

“Really pretty” Minseok smiles, touching them. It's a weird feeling, no one has ever touched Jongdae's wings before. Well, they probably did when he was younger but never the way Minseok is. 

“So can I hold Cos now?” Jongdae asks before making his wings disappear. 

“I guess” Minseok says, frowning a bit at the lack of wings “if you’re gentle.”

“Yay!” Jongdae smiles. 

Minseok gently opens the enclosure for Jongdae who extends his hand to invite Cos to walk on. 

“Maybe after this, we can go to the mall?” Minseok suggests “Not the most interesting date but they have a photo booth so that could be fun.” 

“That sounds perfect” Jongdae smiles as Cos walks around his hand. 

~=+•+=~

“Please give me another Minseok case” Jongdae pouts. 

“There isn’t one” Yongsun sighs “he’s been really busy with work, I don’t think he’ll need help until the weekend when he obviously creates a situation just to see you.”

“He’s so sweet like that” Jongdae smiles “but really? Not until this weekend?” 

“I don’t think so” Yongsun frowns “I’ll keep you updated but maybe you could take another case?”

“No, that’s ok” Jongdae shakes his head “I don’t want another one.”

“Even a human case?” Yongsun says enticing Jongdae by holding one up for him and shaking it a bit. 

“Human case?” Jongdae asks as he perks up a bit. But he doesn’t really want a human case if it’s not Minseok. Weird how things change but when he really thinks about it, no other human really interests him right now “that's fine, I’ll just hang out in the spa.”

“Is that your code for sneaking out to see Minseok?” Yongsun asks raising her eyebrow “Byulyi told me all about it.”

“I’ll actually go to the spa this time” Jongdae frowns “you said it was to the left?”

“Yeah left and third door to the right” Yongsun answers. 

Jongdae follows Yongsun’s instructions and checks himself into the spa for their 5-day package, might as well, not like he’ll have anything to do until the weekend. 

The spa is beautiful, like the rest of the angel world it’s white with dark wood and plants everywhere but for a spa, it fits the theme better and it's just even nicer. Even with Jongdae’s soul screaming to go see Minseok, he feels rather peaceful in the spa. There’s so much to do but Jongdae decides to start in the pool. Chilling on a pool floaty sounds pretty appealing. It’s certainly calming. It’s not better than being with Minseok but there might be something to this whole “taking a break” thing. 

“Jongdae?” A girl asks entering the pool area. 

Jongdae sits up on his floaty to look for the source of the voice. To his surprise he sees Hyejin, the Cupid angel he met a few months ago. She looks a lot better when she’s not in uniform. 

“Hyejin! Hi!” Jongdae smiles. 

“How’d everything work out with your human?” She asks hanging her towel on the provided hooks. 

“Pretty good” Jongdae smiles thinking about Minseok “hey wait you’re a Cupid angel, right?”

“Yup” Hyejin laughs before walking down the stairs into the pool “didn’t suddenly switch.”

“So you know about love and stuff?” Jongdae asks again. 

“You fell for that human of yours? Not going to lie I saw that coming” Hyejin laughs. 

“I really like him” Jongdae agrees “I think I might love him.”

“That’s so cute” Hyejin smiles “I hope that works out for you two.”

“Me too” Jongdae says the smile fading from his face “but it’s hard you know? Because I can only see him when he needs an angel and I can’t stay very long.”

“Have you tried sneaking out?” Hyejin asks. 

“Yes... but I don’t want to do that too much” Jongdae explains “I feel like it’s really hard for us. Maybe you have some advice?” 

“First thing that comes to mind is that you should ask for an appeal” Hyejin replies. 

“An appeal?” Jongdae asks. 

“Yeah like stand in front of the court of elders, tell them your whole story and see what they say” Hyejin explains “They’ll probably figure something out for you two. I mean no offence but you can’t be the first angel who’s fallen for a human.”

“Do you know any?” Jongdae asks. 

“No, but I don’t get out much. Actually I get out too much. Don’t spend a whole lot of time with angels” Hyejin explains “but I’m sure it’s happened so the court probably knows exactly what to do.”

“You’re right” Jongdae smiles “I’ll go now!”

“Alright well, then can I have your pool floaty?” Hyejin asks. 

“Sure” Jongdae laughs getting off of it and splashing in the water “And thanks a lot Hyejin, you’re always a huge help.”

“No problem” Hyejin smiles “love is kinda my thing, now go get that appeal.”

“Ok!” Jongdae says excitedly getting out of the pool. 

Jongdae checks out of the spa which makes the workers very confused but he doesn’t have time to explain. He needs to get to the court and get that appeal. 

Jongdae hasn’t really passed the tenth floor of the angel world. He hasn’t had a need. He was raised with all the other baby angels on the first floor, graduated to the second floor and so on until he got his job as a guardian angel on the tenth floor. But the angel court is all the way on the hundredth floor and Jongdae feels a little anxious going that high up. He almost doesn’t feel worthy. 

Once he gets there it’s a lot more dark wood and plants, very little white. It’s almost like an earth courtroom. Jongdae’s almost certain they modelled it after one when they did the big redecoration. 

Jongdae finds the front desk and proudly walks up. 

“What can I help you with?” The angel asks. 

“I need to talk to the court about getting an appeal, see I’m in l- well I’m dating a human-“ Jongdae starts. 

“Oh yes, we have that form here one second” The angel says before looking for it in here filing cabinet “right, here you go, fill that out and drop it off. Someone will review it and call you with the court date.” 

“Ok thanks” Jongdae says taking the page “that was easier than I thought.”

Jongdae uses the pen on the desk to fill it out with his information. It seems like pretty basic stuff, his name, Minseok’s name, when they met, when they started their romantic interactions etc. The form almost makes it seem like this is a regular thing for angels. It’s weird Jongdae’s never heard of it before. He finishes filling it out rather quickly and puts it in the drop off bin. Once he’s done, Jongdae can’t think of anything other than going back to the spa. (If they were confused before they’re extra confused when he checks back in.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda awkward ending but there's only one more chapter so!!


	6. Respect Your Elders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone reading didn't read the first two fics in this series. There is a reference that may not make sense so just: 
> 
> "Kyungsoo is engaged and Jongin missed his chance with him. Or so it would seem. With the help of Jongdae the guardian angel, Jongin can coach his teenage self into dating his crush of 10 years and best friend, Kyungsoo. " 
> 
> Yeah, that's what happened in the second fic so now you'll get the reference. 
> 
> Also, this gets angsty so warning. I should probably include that as a tag.

Finally, after days of waiting, his case has been reviewed and it’s time for him to stand before the court and plead his case. He’s been thinking about it for all the time he’s been in the spa. He hasn’t had much else to think about so Jongdae feels rather prepared. No matter what they ask, he’ll be ready. 

Jongdae puts on his best entirely white suit and heads up to the hundredth floor. He walks into the courtroom and feels a little nervous. All five of the angel elders are sitting high up in their chairs and Jongdae feels so small standing on the ground in front of them. 

“Hello, child” The first elder, Joohyun, says in a calm voice “we’d like you to tell us why you’re here. Spear no detail.”

Jongdae does as he’s told and he tells them everything. He tells them about his passion for humans, why he took the first Minseok case. How he failed the first Minseok case and how that led to every single other case. He explains what it feels like being with Minseok and why it’s so important to him. The elders don’t say anything the whole time, they let him speak and only once he’s done telling them about every detail he can think of, then one speaks up. 

“And why did you want to come before the court?” The second elder, Seulgi, asks. 

“I thought I just said that-“ Jongdae sighs “I am looking for your help and guidance and wisdom. I want to have a healthy relationship with Minseok but that’s so difficult with the way we have to meet.”

“You are breaking the rules on those dates of yours.” The third elder, Seungwan, points out. 

“But it’s for-“ Jongdae starts. 

“Love?” The fourth, Sooyoung, interjects “I was listening carefully and you never mentioned you love him.”

“Do you love him?” The fifth, Yerim, asks. 

“He’s the most important person in my life” Jongdae answers. 

“That’s not an answer” Yerim scoffs. 

“It’s simple, do you love him? Yes or no?” Joohyun asks. 

“I have never been in love so I don’t know. I know he’s special. I know he makes me feel things I’ve never felt. I’ll know if I love him if I get more time with him” Jongdae answers “but that’s the issue, I don’t get time to be with him.”

“You can’t decide if you love him and he’s influencing you to break our rules?” Seulgi says leaning forward “Where did you find this boy?”

“Minseok is not the problem, he is a wonderful person and that’s a fact. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get a guardian angel” Jongdae says getting a little mad “the only issue is the rules are keeping us apart.”

“Now the rules are a problem?” Seungwan “Do you disagree with them? Are they unfair? Unjustified?”

“I’m not saying the rules are the problem, I’m just saying they’re making my particular situation difficult.” Jongdae explains not appreciating having his words twisted. He’s never experienced people like this before, angel or human. It’s like they’re trying to be angry but why? Jongdae just came here for help but they just want to be mad at him? 

“Maybe you’re the problem then” Seulgi adds. 

“I’m not the problem, Minseok’s not the problem, it’s just an unfortunate situation and that’s why I came here for help” Jongdae says firmly “I just want him to be happy but I know this is going to cause a strain in our relationship. I’m trying to prevent the problem.”

“You seem very sure of yourself” Yerim says. 

“I'm not often sure of myself. I act like it but usually, I wonder if I did everything right. I always try to do a good job and I trust my training but I always wonder if somehow I could have done it better. But I don’t wonder about Minseok. I am sure what we have is good and I am sure I should be with him.” Jongdae answers honestly. 

“Very well” Joohyun says “in that case, we will vote on your appeal.”

“All in favour of the appeal, raise your hand” Seungwan says. 

Jongdae waits patiently for the elders to one by one raise their hands but they don’t. Not even one raises their hand. His heart sinks at the idea that he won't be able to improve his relationship with Minseok just because some elder angels decided he shouldn't get their help. 

“That is settled then, no appeal for you” Seungwan answers “in fact, due to the poor influence the human has had on you, I call a new vote. All in favour of banning Jongdae from human cases, raise your hand.”

“What!” Jongdae yells in fear as they start raising their hands “You can’t do that!”

“We can do whatever we want” Sooyoung answers “You broke the rules, you should be grateful this is your only punishment.”

“But you’ll hurt Minseok too! He didn’t do anything wrong!” Jongdae yells. 

“That is true. However, it’s the only solution that makes sense. It stops him from influencing you and it serves as punishment as well.” Sooyoung answers “and since we have a unanimous vote, that’s what’s happening. And don’t try to sneakily go see him, we'll know if you transport. If you go anywhere other than where your cases tell you to, you’ll wish this was your only punishment.”

“But you heard everything I said! How could you do that!” Jongdae says, feeling a level of pain he's never experienced before. He saw it when Baekhyun found out Chanyeol wanted a divorce and he saw it when Jongin found out about Kyungsoo’s engagement but he never felt it himself. Heartbreak. “Please don’t do this!”

“We’ve all voted” Joohyun says “now leave before we have to call for your removal.”

“No!” Jongdae yells as tears fill his eyes “You were supposed to help! Take it back!” 

“And you're gone” Joohyun sighs before snapping her fingers. 

Jongdae suddenly finds himself at his desk. Jongdae disregards all social conventions and just starts crying at his desk. He tried to make it better and he somehow ruined what he had. He’s never allowed to see Minseok again? Or any human at all? Surely they’ll lift that ban later but how much time will have passed? Humans only live to around 80 years and it could be centuries before they lift his ban. He might never see Minseok again and he won’t even be able to tell him why. That is the part that hurts the most. Not losing the person he... cherishes most in life. The fact that Minseok won’t even know why Jongdae stopped showing up. He’ll have to cope with the same emotions Jongdae’s feeling but he won’t know who’s to blame. He might blame Jongdae, he should blame Jongdae. It’s technically Jongdae’s fault even if really it’s the elders. But Minseok might also blame himself and that’s unfair because he did nothing wrong. Jongdae hopes a different angel can go help Minseok because he deserves to be happy. Even when Jongdae can’t be. 

“Jongdae?” Yongsun says softly, putting a hand on Jongdae’s shoulder “I have a file for you.”

“I don’t want a file” Jongdae mumbles, still wallowing in his feelings. 

“I think you’ll want this one” Yongsun says before putting it in front of Jongdae “I got the message about you being banned from humans but Tan isn’t a human.”

“Tan?” Jongdae says before taking the file “Tan needs help?”

“Yeah, she accidentally tore a hole in her bed so someone needs to go fix it” Yongsun says “and I think a certain someone might have just come home from work. You better go before he gets his sewing kit out.”

“Yongsun you’re the best” Jongdae says before getting up and giving her the tightest hug “I can never repay you!”

“You don’t have to, I just want you happy, Dae” Yongsun says, trying to breathe through the hug “All though I wouldn’t mind if you let go.”

“Right!” Jongdae says letting go “I have a cat bed to fix.”

Jongdae runs to the transport room as fast as he can and teleports straight to Minseok’s apartment. 

“Don’t touch that!” Jongdae yells as Minseok picks up the cat bed “I’m here till it’s fixed and I do not want to leave quickly.”

“Ok ok” Minseok laughs putting it back down “We’ll go on a date, then you can fix it. No need to freak out.” 

“Minseok, I need to tell you something” Jongdae says seriously, which makes Minseok’s smile disappear. 

“You don’t call me Minseok anymore remember?” Minseok says trying to lighten the mood. 

“Something happened” Jongdae says, trying to keep it together “I thought I could make things better for us. It’s hard only being able to see you when you need help so I talked to the elders about it. I thought they would tell me what I could do but they didn’t. Instead, they banned me from all human cases. I’m only here for Tan because one of my friends thought of it.”

“What do you mean you're banned from human cases?” Minseok asks walking towards Jongdae. 

“It means I can’t help you ever again. It also means they’re watching me and I can’t sneak out. I ruined everything.” Jongdae whimpers before letting himself fall onto Minseok’s couch “I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again. Once they find out I’m here they’ll probably not let me take Tan cases either.” 

“There has to be a way to undo this” Minseok says, sitting beside Jongdae and taking Jongdae’s hands into his for comfort. 

“There isn’t” Jongdae says as his eyes water “but at least I’ll get to say goodbye. At least you’ll know it wasn’t your fault.”

“I don’t-“ Minseok starts as a knot forms in his throat “Aren't angels nice? How could they do this?”

“It’s punishment for sneaking out” Jongdae answers “I- just-“

Jongdae starts crying again but this time Minseok’s here and that makes it better and worse at the same time somehow. Minseok wraps his arms around Jongdae as he cries to try to comfort him. Jongdae can tell Minseok is crying too but he’s trying to hide it. Probably so Jongdae won’t feel worse. After a little while, Jongdae stops crying and speaks up again. 

“Think you’re a bad influence but you’re not! I’m happier with you and they just don’t get it!” Jongdae complains. 

“You sound a bit like a whiny teen” Minseok says with a sad smile. 

“Hyung” Jongdae pouts “I’m telling you we’ll never see each other again and you’re making jokes?”

“I don’t want to be sad” Minseok responds “even if we don’t get to see each other after this we should enjoy the time we have right now.”

“I guess you’re right” Jongdae nods. 

“How much time do you think that’ll be?” Minseok asks. 

“An hour? Maybe less” Jongdae answers. 

Minseok frowns slightly but nods. He takes a deep breath and smiles. 

“Then we’ll make the most of it” Minseok says, putting a hand on Jongdae’s cheek. 

Jongdae really really wants to kiss Minseok so he decides, fuck it. He quickly captures Minseok’s lips and wraps his arm around Minseok’s waist to pull him closer. He doesn’t exactly know why but this kiss is different from the others. It doesn’t feel happy and cute as usual. It feels more passionate but also painful. Minseok seems to be feeling the same way though if the way he’s tightly holding the back of Jongdae’s neck is any indication. Jongdae’s so wrapped up in the kiss that he forgets to breathe but he’s quickly reminded when his lungs start to burn. He pulls back and starts breathing heavily. Minseok doesn’t move away though, he leans his forehead onto Jongdae’s. Jongdae is not sure why but that makes his heart beat a little harder. 

“I love you” Minseok says before looking up at Jongdae’s eyes “sorry to drop that on you but I just figured since... I wanted you to know.”

“I don’t want to live without you” Jongdae says feeling his pain settle back in “I think- no, I know, I love you too.”

“You do?” Minseok asks. 

“Yes” Jongdae smiles “I’m sure I love you too.”

Minseok kisses Jongdae quickly again before pulling back out of Jongdae’s personal space

“I’m gonna hide you in my cupboard and then they’ll never find you” Minseok laughs “you’re small enough, you’ll fit.”

“Who are you calling small?” Jongdae smiles “I’m taller than you.”

“Barely” Minseok scoffs “and that doesn’t mean you aren’t tiny.”

“I’m average” Jongdae pouts. 

“Teeny” Minseok says patting Jongdae’s head. 

“Stop bullying me, I thought you loved me” Jongdae tries to pout but his smile starts creeping through. 

“It’s a compliment, you’re cute” Minseok says, booping Jongdae’s nose “and is this your new thing? You’re going to mention that I love you as a defence?” 

“No” Jongdae smirks “only when it helps my argument.”

“So every time” Minseok rolls his eyes. 

“Pretty much” Jongdae laughs a little. 

“I’ll just have to get used to it, I guess” Minseok smiles “although I have to say, I really don’t mind the sound of it.”

“Me saying that you love me? Or me saying I love you?” Jongdae asks. 

“Hmmm both” Minseok says interlocking his hands with Jongdae’s again “Although I do sort of prefer the second one.”

“Well, I’ll say it forever then” Jongdae smiles before reality crashes into him “even when you can’t hear it.”

“And I’ll do the same” Minseok says, squeezing Jongdae’s hands. 

The couple hears someone clear their throat and immediately turn to the sound. Byulyi is standing just a couple feet from them with an awkward smile on her face. 

“Sorry for intruding” Byulyi laughs awkwardly. 

“Not yet” Jongdae mumbles before leaning towards Minseok and wrapping his arms around Minseok’s waist like a child clinging to their favourite stuffie. 

“I mean I guess I can wait but I have other cases” Byulyi says making the file pop out of the air to illustrate her point. 

“Case? You’re on a case?” Jongdae asks as he untenses “you’re not here to pull me away from Minseok?”

“No, why would I do that?” Byulyi asks, looking really confused. 

“No reason...” Jongdae answers. He’s not about to give her a reason if she hasn’t heard the news. 

“Why are you here though, I’m fine” Minseok says, rubbing Jongdae’s back to comfort him “And Jongdae’s handling Tan’s case... did something happen to Cos? Do angels handle spider cases?”

“Sometimes but Cos is fine. I’m here for Jongdae” Byulyi answers. 

“No! You said you wouldn’t!” Jongdae says grabbing Minseok even tighter “I thought we were friends! Don’t do this!”

“It’s your choice? Can I explain or are you just going to keep freaking out?” Byulyi asks. 

“Fine, say what you’re doing to say” Jongdae says, still a little angry. 

“In the case of an angel falling for a human, the angel will be given a choice. If they want, they can give up their wings and become human.” Byulyi explains “I’m here to oversee the process.”

“Wait really?” Jongdae smiles. 

“Why would he do that?” Minseok asks “Angels are immortal and live such great lives. It doesn’t make any sense, why would anyone choose to become human?”

“It’s just what we offer, up to the angel” Byulyi says, throwing her hands up before pointing at Jongdae “The elders are giving Jongdae that choice but it’s up to him to make the decision. I’m just here to help.”

“Didn’t you say they denied your-“ Minseok asks Jongdae before being interrupted. 

“Yes, I will gladly give up my wings. Please do that. Quickly” Jongdae says putting a hand on Minseok’s mouth before whispering in his ear “Don’t tell her that, I can not lose this opportunity.”

Minseok pulls Jongdae’s hand off his mouth so he can speak again. 

“You’re going to give up being an angel?” Minseok asks “Are you insane? You love helping people.”

“And I can’t help people as a human?” Jongdae asks “I love humans but more importantly, I love you and this is the best way for us to have a normal healthy relationship.”

“You’d give up immortality for me?” Minseok asks, taken back. 

“Why on earth would I want to live forever if you can’t?” Jongdae says, absolutely sure of his choice “I want this. I want a human life with you more than anything in the world.”

“Yeah, that’s why there aren’t really any human/angel relationships. They always take the offer.” Byulyi nods. 

“Except the ones who get denied” Jongdae adds thinking about his own case, even though Byulyi doesn’t know that “but I guess they stop dating their human too.”

“No case has ever been denied” Byulyi answers with a puzzled look before speaking again “Jongdae your case wasn’t actually denied, they just told you that as a test. I didn't realize you actually believed them. You proved that this is truly what you want and that you loved Minseok so now I’m here.”

“This was a test?” Jongdae asks “Man I hate the elders but somehow I hate them a bit less than before.”

“They’re just looking out for you. Sometimes I forget how young you are” Byulyi laughs “but you could have saved yourself the trouble if you just said you loved him in court.”

“I wasn’t sure though” Jongdae says before turning to Minseok who looks somewhere in between confused and mad “I know now! It just... took...”

“Your banishment? See the elders know what they're doing” Byulyi says. 

“Ok fine they’re super wise and wonderful” Jongdae dismisses “now make me human!”

“Ok” Byulyi says, walking up to Jongdae. 

“Wait!” Minseok yells before turning to Jongdae “you’re sure about this?” 

“Absolutely” Jongdae says seriously. 

“Ok” Minseok nods “I trust you.”

“And...” Byulyi says before tapping Jongdae’s forehead “You’re human! How do you feel?”

“The same?” Jongdae says a bit confused “are you sure you did that right?”

“Try to glow” Byulyi says. 

Jongdae turns on his glow, except he doesn’t. Glowing is like... moving an arm to angels but he can’t do it.

“Yup see you’re human you’re welcome. Gave you some ID, money etc too. It’ll be in Minseok’s safe.” Byulyi smiles before pausing “Oh, by the way, you’re still on the hook for the cat bed so I hope you know how to sew. I’ll pick up the report tomorrow.”

“Really?” Jongdae asks. 

“No” Byulyi laughs before snapping her fingers and fixing the bed “Man you're gullible. No wonder the banishment thing worked on you.”

“Hey!” Jongdae frowns. 

“It’s ok babe, you can work on it” Minseok says, calming down his partner. 

“Alright well done so, bye Dae” Byulyi smiles “See you two... hopefully not too soon! Bye!”

Byulyi pops out leaving Minseok and Jongdae alone. 

“I still can’t believe you did that” Minseok says, referring to Jongdae’s humanity. 

“I still can’t believe I fell for that. Obviously they wouldn’t reject my case. Man Joohyun can really seem like a hard ass when she needs to though” Jongdae says mainly talking to himself “I’m not that gullible, am I?”

“You almost bought into a very obvious pyramid scheme when we were at the mall. I mean nutriboom? For amino acid levels that are too high or too low?” Minseok laughs before seeing Jongdae’s pout “but like I said, it’s a skill and you can learn. You’ll have to learn to do a lot of human things.”

“Laundry” Jongdae nods. 

“I was thinking more like social situations and stuff but yeah laundry too” Minseok smiles “I love to see you in something that wasn’t white.”

“Oh, right I don’t have any other clothes...” Jongdae frowns “or anywhere to live.”

“How do you feel about moving in?” Minseok asks, smiling. 

Jongdae nods vigorously before pulling Minseok in for an enthusiastic hug. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's over :( well it's been fun! I'm not going to be adding any more fics to this series either so... idk kinda sucks to have this AU done but it was fun and I really enjoyed the concept and writing it. Thank you all for reading it!


End file.
